The Walking Dead: Lethal Protector
by XAgent-Venom666X
Summary: Before she could fall victim to walkers, Sophia was saved by the most unlikely of heroes. One with a terrible past and a terrifying gift. His arrival will change the lives of the Atlanta survivors and the events to follow in ways no one could predict, because now Rick and his group are protected by something far more dangerous than zombies and other survivors could ever hope to be.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Been doing a bit of cleaning with a few stories that I couldn't continue for the time being. So for those who are missing some of the stories that had been taken down, they will make a comeback in the near future.**

 **For now, however, with the upcoming Venom movie opening up in the fall I figured one of my earliest thought out ideas deserved a shot. And with how season 8 of the Walking Dead is nearing its climax, I want to see how people would think of Rick's group having a little extra 'help' with the many conflicts they would be facing after season 2.**

 **For those that clicked on this, I hope your ready. Because this here I'm hoping to make a masterpiece.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Walking Dead or Venom.**

 **X**

 _ **"Everyone's got their thing. Maybe it's a break up. A death. An accident. Whatever it is, you used to be one thing, now...you're something else."**_

 _ **"For countless people, it was the end of the world. The dead coming back to life and eating the living. Society collapsing in on itself. Life it self becoming filled with blood and chaos as survival became an every day struggle."**_

 _ **"But for me? My life changed long before the rest of the world went to shit. Ripped away before rotting corpses skulked around and the number of living people depended on the day. But it was something that allowed me to survive better than others."**_

 _ **"In the end, we all have our own problems. Our own issues."**_

 _ **"Our own...DEMONS."**_

 _ **"Mine just happens to have a whole new meaning to it..."**_

 **X**

Sophia ran as fast as he legs could carry her, doing her best to ignore the sting from the many scratches she had gotten while running through the trees and bushes around her. The hungry growls and moans of her persurers pushing the young girl to keep moving.

Tears ran down her face, mixing with sweat from all the running and the heat from the Georgia sun high above her. She shouldn't have run into the woods to escape the walker herd on the highway, now she didn't know where she was or how to get back to her group, back to her mom.

Her tiny heart pounded inside of her chest, fear and adrenaline driving her as she did all in her power to escape the undead corpses that were stalking after her, hungry for her flesh.

Climbing over a log and falling to her hands and knees, Sophia scrambled back to her feet and started running again. Praying that she could escape the walkers and try and find her way back.

Instead the ground suddenly disappeared beneath her, the girl so focused on getting away from the monsters behind her that she didn't see that she was running straight toward an embankment until she found herself rolling down hill. Having just the right mind to tuck her little arms and legs, biting her lip when more scratches and cuts marked her skin and tore her blue shirt before she landed on the soft ground below.

Several seconds passed befor Sophia started crying. She was scared, her legs and body ached, and she missed everybody back in the group. Her mom, Carl and his parents, Shane, T-Dog, Andrea, Dale, Daryl, she wished to be with them right now instead of lost and alone somewhere in the woods surrounded by monsters.

She laid there sobbing quietly for a time before a familiar growl was heard nearby. Sophia snapped her head up to see a walker not too far way. Its rotten and decaying skin a sickly combination of yellow and grey with the lips around its mouth missing, showing bloody and broken teeth.

When it laid its cloudy, undead eyes on the girl it growled louder while several other walkers came out from the surrounding trees and shambled toward her.

"No...no..." Sophia whimpered as she tried to get to her feet. Yelping loudly and collapsing back down when her right ankle flared with sharp pain. The walkers drew in closer as the girl began crawling away from them, terror gripping her chest when she looked up and saw more of the undead blocking her off.

She had nowhere to go.

Whimpering as she crawled back until she was against the embankment she had fallen down. Sophia closed her eyes tight, covering her head with her arms in a feeble attempt to stave off the inevitable as the undead closed in on her from all sides.

"Please. Somebody help me!" she said in dispair, hoping beyond all hope to be saved.

Right as the closest walker reached down to take a chunk out of the girl, a bellowing roar echoed throughout the forest a split second before something crashed down onto three of the zombies from above. The impact shaking the ground and causing the rest of the walkers to stumble back and a couple to fall over.

Sophia jumped and opened her eyes, wiping at them and blinking a few times to clear her vision enough to look upon the figure that had appeared infront of her.

They were big, bigger than her daddy had been and even bigger than the other men she had seen in her group and had a lot of muscle like a body builder. They were also covered in a thick, black, oily looking suit that covered them from their feet to their bald head.

But what stood out the clearest was a large white spider that was embroiled in the figure's back. Its eight legs going around their shoulders, torso and hips.

The walkers turned to the new arrival and groaned in hunger as they went after them. The figure raised one of their hands...big hands that had sharp claws on the ends of the fingers and grabbed the walker by the head;

 _ **Crunch!**_

A small explosion of bone and rotten grey matter shot out from between black fingers before the now headless zombie was dropped to the ground. The rest of the walkers converged on the figure who brought back the still blood covered arm and swung around with a heavy backhand that sent three of the undead flying into the trees where they collided with the solid trunks with a series of cracks and splashes as their bodies were violently broken on impact.

The remaining walkers met a similar fate, some of them grabbed and throw through the forest while others were swatted aside as though they were flies. One had managed to get in close and attempt to bite on the figures arm, the suit along the arm seemed to come to life and form a spike that shot up through the walker's mouth and up through its head. The spike retracted, causing the body to collapse to the ground.

In less than a minute, all of the walkers were completely dead. Save for one that laid at the figure's feet attempting to grab their ankle. This was fixed when they raised their foot and brought it down on the zombie's skull, crushing it like a ripe grape.

Sophia looked on in awe as all of the walkers were dealt with, leaving only herself and her savior who still kept their back to her.

"Ex-Excuse me?" she asked, swallowing thickly. "Thank you for saving me from the walkers."

The figure remained immobile, Sophia didn't know if he had heard her or not until he slowly turned toward her...

Sophia's eyes widened to their widest proportions, her mouth fell open and a scream of sheer terror froze in her throat.

The same white spider symbol on the back connected to a similar one on the chest. A pair of white jagged 'eye lenses' looked down at the small girl, but she was more drawn to the large maw filled with dozens upon dozens of razor sharp fangs that looked too big for the mouth to close properly.

Tilting its head to the side, the creature crouched down so that it was level with the terrified child who breathed in short gasps and looked on the verge of passing out at any moment.

 **"Are you okay?"** the beast spoke. It's voice deep and echoing with a slight hiss like a serpent, something a demon would sound like.

Sophia remained petrified, unable to take her eyes off all the teeth that were visible.

Seeing this, the creature slowly moved back while remaining low to the ground. **"We mean you no harm, child."** it spoke again, hands raised slightly in a non-threatening manner. **"You don't have to be afraid of us."**

The girl swallowed, still looking pale and unresponsive. Tilting its head again in thought, the creature's head opened up and slithered down into the neck like living water, revealing a very human face that had been underneath. His face was young, looking shy of his 20's with a head of short black hair and light stubble along his jawline. A pair of kind hazel eyes looked at the girl with a small smile.

"It's okay." he said gently. "We're not a bad guy." Sophia blinked and seemed to become less tense. "What's you're name?" he asked in the same tone.

"S-Sophia." said the girl hesitantly.

"Sophia, our name is Alex. We didn't mean to scare you, it's just how we look when taking our full form. And we couldn't let you get eaten by those rotters if we could help it." said the now named Alex.

Looking confused, Sophia winced when her sore ankle flared up again. Getting a closer look, Alex saw the damage that had been done. "It looks sprained. That spill you took down the hill roughed you up pretty bad."

"I...I need to find my group, find my mom." the girl said, looking up at the sky and seeing that it was starting to get darker.

"You won't be able to on that leg." Alex said, his head snapping up and scanning around as though hearing something Sophia couldn't. "More rotters are on the way too. We have a hideout not too far away from here, it'll be safer."

He reached to pick up the girl only for her to shuffle back, obviously still afraid and unsure about him. "Sophia, we swear on our life that we won't hurt you." the claws on the ends of his fingers shrank until they were gone as further proof.

Several seconds passed before Sophia finally nodded, trusting in his kind tone and words and allowing Alex to pick her up and cradle her to his broad chest comfortably before taking off into the forest in a dead run just as more walkers started arriving.

Despite how she felt about her savior minutes before, Sophia couldn't help but feel safe in the large arms that held her. The strange suit he wore was soft, almost water-like, and was very warm, the bizzare comfort had the girl's eyes growing heavy, her exhausion finally catching up with her as she drifted off to sleep.

 **X**

Alex looked down at the girl he was carrying, her soft breathing telling him that she had fallen asleep.

She needed it. All the running she had done and the fall she had taken coupled with being afraid of not only the walkers but of them as well had certainly taken its toll on her.

 _ **"What shall we do with her?"**_ his other hissed from within his mind in curiosity.

"We protect her. She said something about finding her group and her mother, when she's feeling better we will help her find them." Alex replied as they continued to run through the trees.

 _ **"If they are still alive."**_ commented his other. _**"There is more dead than living since all of this began."**_

"That is why we do what we can to protect what is left of the living." Alex said, making sure his little passenger was secured in on of his arms before extending the other into the air.

A line of black, web-like substance shot from the top of his wrist and attached a nearby tree, his body launching into the air as he started swinging through the trees.

The sleeping girl had no way of knowing that this one interaction had greatly changed the events to come in ways no one would have believed.

 **A/N: Short opening, but the chapters that follow will be a lot longer with the backstory of my character unveiling here and there.**

 **There will be a pairing for Alex later on, I'm just deciding on who it should be for him in the end and you all are more than welcome to send me your thoughts on the matter.**

 **Already working on the update, review and let me know what you think and I'll be sure to make it worth your while.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Things look to be turning out well so far for this. Thanks for all of the reviews, favorites and follows out there, I will do everything in my power to keep you all entertained while continuing with this story and taking it to good places.**

 **That being said, for those that have become interested, as promised the newest chapter is prepped and ready. And even though it is still a little on the short side for the time being, the chapters will get a lot longer the more I get into it. Believe me, it's all leading up to something truly badass.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Walking Dead or Venom.**

Growing up in Brooklyn, Alex learned from a young age what it took to simply stay living. Especially when having to live off the streets with no real home to go back to at the end of the day.

Needless to say, the former New Yoker knew how to make do with what he had available, even in the middle of nowhere deep in the heart of Georgia.

Swinging through the trees on various lines of black webbing, Alex landed softly on the roof of an old farm house deep in the woods. Being sure not to jostle his little passenger, he slipped in through the only window that was open. The rest of the openings to the building had been boarded up long ago, and with the only entrance being on the second floor it was least likely for anyone, undead or otherwise, to get inside.

And it wasn't like he had anything to worry about in that regard anyway.

Having long since gotten used to the smell of dust and old wood, Alex made his way down to the first floor of the house where the spacious main room had been recently established as a living space.

All of the furniture had been taken out save for the old couch which had a sleeping bag and a couple blankets laid out on it. In the corner were several duffelbags filled with supplies, weapons and various other things that he had collected in his travels.

Laying Sophia on the makeshift bed, being careful of her injured ankle as he covered her with the blankets, Alex went around the room and turned on a couple of electric lanterns to give a little light as the night slowly started to settle in outside.

Satisfied with how things were, he looked down at his suit. The 'clothing' coming alive and shifting into a black t-shirt, worn jeans and combat boots before he made his way to the kitchen where a couple more duffelbags were sitting on the counters filled with cans of food.

Grabbing something for him and his guest to eat when she woke up, Alex went back into the living room where he laid out another sleeping bag on the floor while fishing out a book from one of the other bags and settling in with his back to the wall.

 _ **"What are our chances of finding the spawnling's group?"**_ his other asked curiously.

 _"She couldn't have been out here more than a day or so, shouldn't be too hard. Especially if they are out looking for her."_ Alex thought back as he turned the page he finished with.

 _ **"Her reaction to us was certainly expected. Though we are surprised that she was willing to let us bring her here."**_

 _"Guess not everyone is completely afraid of the way we look. That, and she must have realized how small her options were once we saved her. She definitely wouldn't have made it after that fall she took."_

The other voice in his head hummed a bit, _**"It is rather nice that we have company. It certainly has been a while since we've encountered other humans that didn't try shooting at us first."**_

Alex couldn't help but agree as he sent another look toward Sophia before going back to reading. A couple of hours slipped by without much really happening, the only sounds in the old house being the little girl's soft breathing and the light cherp of insects outside.

Finishing the book and reaching for a second, Alex paused when his guest shifted. Her eyes opening a moment later as she looked around the room in confusion.

Staying silent so he wouldn't spook her, he waited until she was more awake and her blue eyes settled on him. "Hey," Alex said with a soft wave. "How are you feeling?"

Sophia blinked before rubbing her eyes a bit, "My leg still hurts a bit." she said softly, wincing in pain when she shifted the injured limb beneath the blankets.

Alex nodded before getting up, stretching a bit after having been sitting for so long before going over to his supplies. Fishing out a first aid kit, a bottle of asprin and a bottle of water, he knelt down next to the couch. "Mind if we have a look?"

The girl hesitated before nodding. The man lifted the blanket off her legs and looked at the swollen ankle, the skin turning a pale shade of black and purple.

"Definitely a sprain." Alex muttered mostly to himself as he opened the kit and took out an ace bandage and a one-use ice pack. "This is gonna hurt a little, but we need to get that ankle wrapped up."

Sophia nodded again, biting her lip to avoid making any noise as he wrapped her ankle as gently as possible. When he finished with that, Alex took the ice pack and twisted it, causing the compress to get cold fast and laying it over the injured limb.

"Keep it elevated, the swelling should go down after a little while." he said while setting the ankle on the arm of the couch, taking a couple tablets from the bottle of asprin and handing them to the girl along with the water. "You hungry?"

His answer was the sound of Sophia's stomach rumbling, making her blush a bit and causing Alex to laugh lightly. "Guess that answers that." he went over to the food he had gathered, grabbing a can of beef stew and opening it before handing it to the girl with a spoon.

Sophia dug into the offering, only having a couple of snacks here and there since she and the others fled the CDC building days ago.

Not surprised by the girl's appetite, Alex started on his own can, the two of them eating in silence.

 _ **"She's watching us."**_ his other whispered. Alex glanced up and saw Sophia quickly look way.

"Something wrong?" he asked, making her jump slightly. "You don't have to be afraid of us, you can ask any question that's on your mind."

The girl swallowed the bite she had been chewing, taking her time to try and figure out how to word what she wanted to ask. "What...um, what are you?" she finally said.

Alex smiled at her bluntness, "It's a bit complicated to fully explain. Tell us, do you believe in aliens?"

Sophia blinked in shock, "A-Are you...?"

"No, no we are very much human, it's just that we are also something more." her savior explained. "Long before the rotters started coming around, a meteor from space crashed to the Earth. Inside it, a symbiotic lifeform called a Klyntar traveled a long way after being exiled by the rest of its kind. We found the meteor just as the Klyntar escaped its vessel. It latched onto us, merged with us, we became one."

"In exchange for bonding with us, it made us stronger, faster, and a lot of other abilities so that we could defend ourselves. As well as help others, like we did for you."

The girl listened with rapt attention, her eyes wide. "So you're like...a superhero?!" she exclaimed.

Alex chuckled, "We haven't been called that before. Then again, our full appearence does have the tendancy to be scarier than the walking corpses."

Sophia bit her lip, thinking back to the large monster she had first seen that had saved her from the walkers, only to see the actual person that was underneath the surface. Anyone would be afraid at first glance, even after doing something heroic.

"Can...Can I see?" she asked.

Her savior raised an eyebrow, "You sure about that? We scared you pretty well last time."

The girl put on the bravest face she could and nodded. Despite getting scared the first time, she was determined to get a better look at the thing that had saved her life and offered her a place to rest.

Alex couldn't help but smile at Sophia's display of courage, _**"She is a brave one, this spawnling."**_ commented his other, equally impressed.

 _"That she is. Must be some group she's apart of."_ he thought back, nodding at his guest before his clothes started shifting.

Sophia gasped as she watched the man's clothes turn deep black and almost slime-like that began to slither all over his body in a series of tentacles, taking the form of the same suit he had on when they had met.

The substance crawled up over his face, changing into a head covering mask with the same large white eye pieces before the mouth ripped open to reveal the huge maw filled with fangs. A long, pink, surpent-like tongue shot out from between the teeth and flicked the air a moment before slithering back in.

Recoiling from the sudden, bizzare action, Sophia got a closer look at the creature Alex had changed into. Even though the suit looked like a solid mass, her blue eyes could see it shifting ever so slightly, showing very clearly that the suit itself was very alive.

Looking back up at the face, she could also make out two small indents where Alex's eyes would be at the base of the white eye markings, the edges of the markings shifting like the rest of the suit itself.

 **"In this form, we are known as Venom."** the beast spoke as softly as it's demonic-like tone would allow. **"Our bond to the symbiote is strong, together we are one."** he held out his hand, three small tentacles extended from his palm and waved at the girl. **"It sees, feels and experiences everything with us."**

Sophia reached her hand out in awe, the tentacles reached back in response, wrapping gently around her fingers and making her giggle at how strange and warm they felt.

Looking up at the large eyes, she smiled. "Thank you both for saving me." she said softly.

The creature smiled back, the 'mask' peeling apart and showing Alex's smiling face as well. "It's what we do, Sophia."

 **X**

For the rest of the night Alex looked after Sophia while she slept, the for them talking with one another for a few more hours with her telling him about the group she was with and what they had been through before she fled with the walkers chasing her from the highway.

Having promised her that they would be looking for her group the following afternoon, he spent the rest of the night packing up the supplies he had gathered and loaded it into the back of a 2008 Ford Explorer that he had hidden behind the old house. Desiding it best to move on from his own current dwelling after locating Sophia's mother.

The life of a nomad and a lone wolf all at once, it had been his life before he found the symbiote that he was now merged with. Given what he now was, it was hard to find people you could trust and wouldn't try to kill you for being a 'monster'.

Even in a world where the dead come back to life, he and his other felt it better to be alone and help people from the shadows whenever they could.

When morning came around, they had a quick breakfest before Alex loaded the rest of the supplies into his car. When the afternoon finally rolled around the young man carrying the girl to the Explorer and loading her into the passenger seat before jumping behind the wheel and driving down the long dirt path that opened up to the main road a couple miles away.

Giving directions as best she could, Sophia led him to the highway where he followed the same path her group went when they had left Atlanta behind them.

After a while, they came across a series of derelict cars scattered along the road, one car in particular catching Alex's attention. This one having white painted words spelled out on the windshield that read; 'SOPHIA STAY HERE WE WILL COME EVERY DAY'. Several cans of food, bottled water, a blanket and a flashlight were laid out on the hood by whoever had written it.

Stopping the Explorer beside the car, Alex looked at Sophia who had seen the message as well, "What do you think? Should we stick around here and wait?"

"Where could they have gone?" she wondered, looking around and couldn't help but remember the day they all hid from the walker herd that passed through.

Alex opened the center console and took out a map that he had of the local area. "If they still have the cars and RV you told us about, then they couldn't get through all this without a lot of help. And if that message is anything to go by, they're still looking for you pretty hard, so they'll want to stay relatively close to check the surrounding woods." he started listing off while showing her the map in his hands.

"There are a couple of nearby towns, but they're probably infested with rotters. No sane person would risk that much exposure. But there is an old farm a couple miles from here, remote with a lot of open space. We've seen it a couple times but kept our distance as to not bother the family that still lives there."

"Could mama and the others be there?" asked Sophia with hope.

Alex nodded, "Seems like the best place to set up a base camp for search parties. If they're not there we'll come back and camp out here incase they come looking for you." With a new heading in mind, the young man gathered the supplies left behind before turning his car around and heading in the direction of the farm.

"Sophia, when we do encounter your group, could you do us a favor?" he asked. The girl nodded in response. "Could you keep what we are a secret? We wouldn't want the people in your group getting scared of us and reacting...badly."

Sophia understood quickly and nodded, the last thing she wanted was the group trying to hurt her new friends after everything they've done for her.

Almost a half hour after leaving the message behind, Alex turned his Explorer down a dirt road that went into a wide field. A large farm could be seen in the distance.

 **X**

At the same time, Rick stood by the hood of one of the cars his group had brought to the Greene farm. A map spread across the surface as he, Hershel, Daryl, Shane, Andrea and Maggie all stood around him as they looked over the grid they had set up to search for Sophia.

Their search had been temporarily called off when Rick's son Carl had been shot by accident by one of the former residents of the farm who had been out hunting the deer the boy had been close to before the shot was fired.

Now that Carl was out of danger and healing, the group was prepared to focus entirely on finding the missing girl, with the added help of the family that lived on the farm.

But with Rick having given a good amount of blood to help his son, and Shane having hurt his ankle the night before during a run for medical supplies the number of people to start the search was limited.

"Guess it's just me." Daryl said while adjusting the crossbow slung over his shoulder, "I'ma head back to the creek, work ma way from 'ere."

"I can still be useful." added Shane, "Drive up the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back."

Rick nodded, "Alright. Tomorrow, we start doing this right.

"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives." Shane said, "Need the gun training we've been promising."

"You're not carrying guns on my property." said Hershel sternly, it being one of the conditions he laid down when the group first arrived on his farm. "We've managed this far without turning this place into an armed camp."

Shane shook his head, "With all due respect, a crowd of those things wander in here..." he trailed off.

"We're guests here." Rick said to his best friend before looking at the farmer, "This is your property, and we WILL respect that." he finished while looking at all the others seriously while taking out his .357 and laying it on the hood of the car. The other former officer looked away in frusteration, but took out his own sidearm and tossed it onto the car as well.

"Now, first things first. Set up camp, find Sophia." Rick stated.

"I hate to ask, but somebodies got to." Shane cut him off, "What happens when we find her and she's bit? Just thought we'd clear on how we'll handle that."

Everyone froze and looked uncomfortable about the idea of finding the girl and seeing she had been bitten by a walker or, worse, was one herself.

"You do what has to be done." Rick said, but his tone conveyed that he hated to even be thinking about that.

"And her mother? What do you tell her?" asked Maggie.

"The truth." answered Andrea. From there Shane started discussing what they could do for off-site gun training when everyone heard an engine coming up the drive.

Stopping what they were doing, the whole group stepped out in the open and saw a black SUV pulling up to the farm house. Rick and Shane immediately had their sidearms back in hand, Daryl his crossbow while Dale stood on the roof of the RV with a hunting rifle at the ready.

The vehicle came to a stop several meters away, the engine cutting before the driver's side door opened where a young man's head came out and looked their way. "Afternoon!" he called out with a calm smile on his face. "Is there a Carol Peletier available?"

Carol stepped forward, unsure what to make of this sudden turn of events.

The unknown male smiled wider as he stepped out of the SUV, the men in the group having their weapons trained on him as he walked infront of the vehicle to the passenger side and opened the door there as well, coming back out in the open a moment later with a familiar little girl in his arms.

"SOPHIA!" Carol screamed, sprinting forward and embracing the girl while she was being carried.

"Easy ma'am. She had a nasty fall and sprained her ankle running from rotters." the man said, watching as the mother cried tears of joy with her daughter at being reunited again.

"I'm okay, mama." Sophia said, still hugging her mother. "Alex saved me and took care of me."

Carol looked at Alex with a teary smile, "Thank you, thank you so much for finding her."

"It was our pleasure." Alex replied just as the rest of the group came over, happy to see the girl save and back with them.

"You said something about the girl spraining her ankle?" asked Hershel as he took notice of Sophia's wrapped leg. "We should get that looked at, make sure it's getting better. Would you mind bringing her inside?"

"I'll do it." Daryl said, taking the girl from Alex's arms and carrying her toward the house with Carol sticking to them both and fussing over her daughter with Hershel and Maggie following.

"Thank you." Rick said, turning to the new arrival. "All of us were worried when she disappeared."

Alex shrugged, "We were in the right place at the right time. Couldn't let an innocent little girl become rotter bait."

Shane limped a step forward, "You alone?' he asked, eyes scanning the SUV and seeing no one else.

"Been that way for since the start of all this." replied the younger man.

"But you just said 'we'." stated Andrea, a little on edge around the new arrival.

Alex chuckled and scratched the back of his neck, "It's a vocal tick we've had since we were little. Always confuses the hell out of folks refering to ourselves as we, us and our instead of the proper way."

Rick and Shane shared a look. _**"They're having trouble believing us. The one with the shaved head doesn't trust us along with the blonde female."**_ his other said, sensing the emotions of the human's around them.

 _"Understandable, given the circumstances."_ Alex thought back before speaking outloud. "Anyway, we're glad we got Sophia back to her people." he turned and made his way back to the Explorer.

"Where you off to?" asked Rick.

"Dunno. Wherever the road ends." the host said cryptically as he closed the passenger door of his car and made for the driver's seat.

"You don't have to leave right away." said Lori, Rick's wife, making the young man pause. "You just brought back one of our own. The least we can do is let you rest with us for a bit."

Alex remained motionless for a bit, thinking to himself on the offer;

 _"Openly giving an invitation to a stranger, even if they did something like bring back a little girl, isn't always a smart move. These folks obviously haven't seen how bad things have gotten out there."_

 _ **"They seem like a tight knit group. Perhaps it wouldn't be bad to stay for a small while before moving on. The spawnling would be saddened if we didn't at least say goodbye."**_ the symbiote threw in.

After about a minute of discussing it with his other, Alex closed the car door and walked back to the group, "If it is fine with you all, we could stick around for a bit longer."

"How can we be sure that you're not a danger?" Shane said stiffly, making a couple of the others look at him a little surprised by the accusation.

Alex grinned, "Cautious, smart move on your part." he said honestly. "How about we offer to share some supplies we brought with us? We got more than we need at the moment." he made his way to the back of the Explorer and opened the hatch, the group following him with curiousity...

Their mouths falling open when they saw multiple duffelbags filled with almost everything someone would need to survive.

"Sophia said you guys were struggling after you left Atlanta." said the host, he and his other trying not to laugh at seeing their shocked expressions.

"What's the catch?" asked Glenn after overcoming his surprise, "No way you're offering something like this without something in return."

"Believe it or not, not everyone out there are assholes." Alex replied while leaning against the SUV with his arms crossed. "And we're not exactly the hoarding type. We've helped other groups in the past with similar issues."

After looking over what the young man had, the decision to let him stay for a while became unanimous.

However, Shane kept a sharp eye on their guest. Something in the back of his mind telling him that there was more to the younger man that what they were seeing, he just couldn't figure out what.

But he intended to find out...

 **A/N: Sophia's back, and the group have met Alex. But the real question is what will happen now that they don't have to search for her? And how will they all get along with the host of a symbiote? Only time will tell for right now.**

 **The pairing ideas are still open to the public, even though I might hold off on putting Alex with somebody for a while, I still want to see who my readers would think would be a good match for him. So keep the ideas coming and I'll see what I can do when the time finally comes.**

 **Keep reading, and I'll keep writing folks. Until next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: The recent episode of Walking Dead was one of many nail biters we could only expect. And with the climax to the war drawing closer, it's anyone's guess at how its gonna end.**

 **For now, going back to season 2 with this story, it's time I picked up where I left off.**

If he was honest, Alex had to say that the group from Atlanta was an interesting one. Albeit some of them were more than a bit inexperienced with dealing what the world had become.

Rick was a good guy, a former sheriff who had been in a coma before the dead started rising and woke up in the thick of it before finding his family again. His wife Lori was a kind woman, a bit too tender hearted but was devoted to her husband and son.

Carol, Sophia's mother, was meek and softspoken. The classification of a once battered housewife. Though like Lori she was a kind and gentle soul to those around her.

Glenn, Alex could tell, was very fast on his feet and a quick thinker. Someone their group could really depend on when it came to going on supply runs.

Dale, the oldest member of the group, was definitely wise and very patient. Always the lookout for the others and always the voice of reason when things got too tense. He was also the one everyone went too for advice.

Daryl was by all rights the stereotypical redneck type. But he was fiercly protective of the group and was an expert hunter and tracker. He was the one willing to go out and search for Sophia alone despite the danger, and Alex couldn't help but notice that the man's pride was a bit hurt when he came back with the little girl. But he also looked even more relieved that she was back where she belonged.

There wasn't a whole lot known about T-Dog, but from what the host could gather the african-american was loyal to the group that had took him in.

Andrea...Alex couldn't really say much about the blonde, she avoided him like the plague ever since he pulled up. She was jittery, nervous, almost like she was fighting some kind of inner struggle with herself, but he could tell she was dealing with very recent loss that shook her up.

And lastly, there was Shane. Right away Alex didn't like or trust the man and neither did his other. Something about him was wrong, unhinged, almost like he was fast approaching an edge that there was no coming back from. He'd seen the same thing in the past, and the end result was never pretty.

Alex could also see how the former sheriff would stare at his best friend's wife. Like a starving wolf watching prey. And from the way Lori did her best to avoid the man, it was easy to tell that something had happened between them.

Of course, it wasn't just the group from Atlanta that the host had gotten to know. Given that the farm belonged to the family still living there, he had taken the time to get to know the Greenes as well.

Hershel was a veterinarian, and even though his medical expertiese was centered on animals he was knowledgeable enough to help Rick's son after he'd been shot who was now on the road to recovery. He was also a Christian man and raised the rest of his family to be so as well.

He, his daughters Maggie and Beth, Beth's boyfriend Jimmy, and one of their neighbores Patricia, made the group feel welcome on their farm. With a couple stipulations, one of them being that no one should carry firearms on the property out of respect and another being that they had to pitch in and help maintain the farm itself.

Overall, it was a rather nice set up everyone had. If would definitely help them when the winter months finally came around. Though Alex himself didn't know how long he would stick around here, he hadn't been in one place too long since the last group he had been with months ago. Always being on the move and living a nomadic lifestyle was something he was good at and would stick with for the time being.

But that wouldn't stop him from at least having a bit of social interaction while he could. What was the worst that could happen?

 **X**

Not long after Sophia's return, everyone on the farm took the time to get to know the one that had saved her and brought her home.

When introductions were out of the way, everyone had gathered in the dining room of the Greene's home where Rick asked Alex a couple questions to get a feel for him as a person before letting him stay with them for any period of time.

"How did you find her?" the former officer asked once they were all settled.

"We were out hunting for some game about five miles from here when we saw her running from a group of rotters. She took a bad fall down an embankment and was surrounded when we stepped in." Alex explained before taking a drink from a bottle of water he had open. "When things were cleared, we brought Sophia to an old house in the forest we've been using as a safe zone. Treated her leg and made sure she was fed and rested before going out and looking for you all."

Hershel nodded, "I got a good look at your work. Couldn't have done better myself."

"So, uh, where you from?" asked Glenn. "Don't really know much about you."

Alex chuckled, "We're from Brooklyn, New York. Been on the road since the dead started coming back."

"Is it bad up North?" asked Lori, wondering what was happening elsewhere in the country.

"Was it bad in Atlanta?" the host asked back, "The living are pretty much the minority out there now, and a good percentile of those surviving are exploiting those who are struggling. Darwinism at it's finest."

Rick leaned back in his chair, "Can't be all bad." he paused when the younger man laughed without humor.

"You see, that's where you're wrong, sheriff. Sure there might be a settlement or two established with the best of intentions for those who live within. But others?" Alex trailed off at the end, "We were in Savannah before coming this way, there was this place called Crawford that had been built in the weeks that followed the turning. From what we could figure out, things went well in the beginning, but after a while, they started cracking down on those who they believed to be sponging off their resources."

None of the group liked the way that sounded. "What happened?" asked Shane.

"They started by weeding out the elderly and the sick." the host said seriously, "After that, they threw out children too. People who couldn't pull their weight had no place among them. Women who got pregnant were force to abort to avoid more mouths to feed."

Everyone recoiled hearing that. "That's fuckin' sick." T-Dog cursed, "Kids man? What the fuck was wrong with those people?"

"Scared and desperate people are the worst kind." said Alex. "The rotters are predictable, slow and simple minded. The only advantages they have are the element of surprise and their numbers. But other survivors? They can lie, cheat, steal, and kill to get what they want. And those who have nothing to lose? They become the most dangerous folks you encounter."

Rick observed the young man seated before them, "Speaking from experience?"

"In more ways than you can imagine." Alex replied somberly, his other doing what it could to sooth its host from within. "It's why we choose to be alone. Of course, we help any groups we encounter. There's so little life left in the world, someone's got to stand up for those who only wish to forge a new life for themselves."

"That's a noble cause." said Hershel, "Dangerous to do on your own, but noble none the less."

"You still brought my little girl home." said Carol with a watery smile, "I can't thank you enough for that."

Alex waved her off, "It was nothing, really. Sophia's a sweet kid."

The Greene patriarch smiled at the younger man's modesty, "Well, you're more than welcome to stay here at the farm for the time being."

"Much appreciated, I'll try not to be too much of a bother." the host replied as he finished his water and stood up, nodding to the group before venturing outside.

When the door closed, Rick looked to the others, "What do you think?"

"Can we trust him?" Andrea ventured.

"Doubt he would bring Sophia back and offer to share his supplies if he was intending on screwing us over." said Glenn. "Besides, he seems pretty cool."

"All the more reason we should be cautious." said Shane, "He could be trying to let our guard down. Jenner did that pretty well back at the CDC."

"Sophia talked about 'im a lot while Hershel checked on her leg." Daryl said, making himself known from his place in the back of the room, "They were both sayin' the same thing, he did right by her."

Carol rubbed his arm, knowing that the hunter put everything he had into looking for her daughter and came up short in the end. She was more than grateful to him and the others for their efforts, she was just glad she had her Sophia back.

"I'm more worried about what he said about what's going on out there." said Lori. "What are we going to do if we can't even trust the living?"

"We'll just have to be more careful." said Rick, taking his wife's hand and squeezing it. Both of them missing the sharp glare sent to them by Shane before he turned and left the house, Andrea following after him a minute later.

Glenn looked over at Dale who hadn't said a word throughout the whole meeting. "Dale? Got any thoughts?" all eyes turned to the older man as he scratched his beard.

"I can't explain it, but that young man's a good one." Dale said honestly, "I don't know what it is. But after what we've seen and been through recently, I don't think having him around would be a bad thing."

Rick nodded, looking out the window and seeing their guest as he stood out front and looked out over the farm. Something in the pit of his own soul telling him something similar.

 **X**

 _ **"That went rather well. They seem to at least trust us a little."**_ the symbiote said as Alex looked out over the farm.

 _"Most of them anyway..."_ Alex thought back as he recalled getting to know the other survivors. _"There's something wrong about Shane. He's too on edge."_

His other hummed in agreement, _**"We will have to keep an eye on that one. The blonde female as well, she seems to be caught in his web."**_ The host glanced back at the house to see the two they were discussing about head toward where the group hard started making camp for themselves and pick up a bag of guns they had stashed away.

Heading over to where he parked his Explorer behind the RV, Alex started going through the bags of supplies he agreed to share with the others.

It was a good amount, some of the medical stuff he'd gotten from aid stations and a couple hospitals that had been overrun. A good portion of which he'd given to Hershel to help Rick and Lori's son Carl recover from his injury.

The weapons he had were a series of hatchets, machetes, knives and guns he'd picked up all over. Along with ammo and sharpening tools to keep them all inshape and loaded.

Given what he could do with the help of his other, Alex didn't rely on guns unless in a dire situation. Even though his symbiote granted him a lot of abilities that made him superior to other humans, he was still vulnerable to the undead virus if he was bitten.

And if his body died, then his other couldn't sustain itself within him and would be forced to find a new host...and more than likely perish before finding one given how little living there was left in the world.

Even in their full form as Venom they had their weaknesses. Loud sounds or vibrations being one, and fire being another. More than once a bandit or raider group managed to get them with some kind of flaming weapon and caused damage, but they proved victorious in the end.

Bottom line was, they were super strong and a force to be reconed with, but they weren't invincible.

"Alex."

The host was brought out of his thougths and looked up to see Rick walking toward him. "Something on your mind, sheriff?" he asked with a half-smirk.

"Just wanted to say thanks again. Not just for finding Sophia, but for the supplies as well." said the former officer. "You really helped us out of a tight spot."

"No problem, do onto others and all that jazz, right?" Alex replied, "Just because the world went to shit doesn't mean we shouldn't help folks when they need it."

Rick nodded, adjusting his sheriff's hat as he did so. "I gotta ask you. What are you doin' this far South? Heard from the others about the radio transmissions saying that farther North was safer."

"Heard those too. We also heard that West was safer, along with East and South." said Alex. "The dead are everywhere, Rick. There is no 'safe haven' from all this, only places that are considered safer than others depending on people willing to defend them."

He looked the man in the eye, "Sophia told us about the Quarry, and what happened at the CDC. That's just the tip of the iceberg with how bad things have gotten now. We watched the US government firebomb all of Manhattan in some desperate attempt to strike back against the rotters. We can only assume they did something similar to Atlanta. Now there is no goverment, no military, nothing. We're all on our own now."

The former officer swallowed, wondering what the younger man had been through since everything collapsed. "Weren't you ever part of a group, before venturing out on your own?"

Alex sighed deeply. "We had been part of a couple groups in the past. Some we left when things weren't turning out so good while others..." he trailed off. "We weren't pulling punches during that meeting, sheriff. The world you knew before? It's gone. If you aren't willing to do what it takes to protect what's precious to you, then it will be taken from you."

"Is that why you're alone now?" asked Rick. "So that you won't lose anything else?"

The younger man gave him a half-hearted smile, "It's just safer that way." he said before closing the hatch of his SUV. "If you or the others need us for anything, don't hesitate to ask." with that he walked back toward the farm house.

Rick thought about what Alex had said to him, and what he meant behind that it was safer for him to be alone.

Was it safer for him...or for others around him?

 **X**

The Greene farm was fairly large, with more than enough space for all of the livestock and fields that spread across the surrounding acres. Despite the southern heat, and the sounds of cicadas emitting their loud cries from deep within the fields, the setting was peaceful and calm. Almost like the world hadn't fallen just outside the borders.

Alex's boots crunched softly through the grass as he walked along the perimeter of the farm. One of many habits that he picked up whenever he was either bored or anxious. Currently it was the former as he starred out at the surrounding trees, all the while thinking about where he would head to next when he left the farm.

 _"Could head back North again."_ he thought while going through various ideas. _"Or try to the West. Doubt there is very much left on this side of the country."_

 _ **"Things are probably no better that way either."**_ his other pitched in. _**"There's always the South Coast, the corpses rot faster in the sun."**_

 _"Yeah...but the smell."_ Alex thought back, scratching the back of his head. _"Why did we never come up with a worthwhile plan for where to head?"_

 _ **"It was never our style, remember?"**_ the symbiote replied, using words its host had used a long time ago.

Alex rolled his eyes, _"Yeah, I remember now. Was never good at setting goals, especially when you're living from day to day."_

The mental conversation was paused when the strange duo heard what sounded like singing coming from closeby. Curiosity peaked, the host followed the sound to the horse-stables where he saw a girl a year or two younger than himself standing there feeding the horses from a bucket of carrots she had on hand.

Long, corn-flower hair tied up in a loose bun, a white blouse and fitted jeans hugging her thin, willowy frame, and blue eyes that shined when she smiled as she ran her hand along a brown horses' neck.

For several moments Alex stood there, listening as the girl sung softly. Too low for him to hear the words, but loud enough to be caught up in the peaceful melody. Even his other was silent while hearing the soothing sound.

Finished with her task, the girl picked up her bucket and turned, jumping a bit when she saw the male standing a few feet away. "Oh! Hello." she said with a sweet smile.

"Hi. Sorry for that, we heard singing and got curious." Alex replied.

The girl looked over his shoulder then back at him, " 'We'?" she asked, not seeing anyone else around.

"It's a verbal tick, we refer to ourselves in plural." the host explained, getting a nod of understanding from the blonde. "We're Alex, by the way. Alex Cross."

"Beth Greene." the girl introduced herself. "Daddy said that you were the one that brought that missing girl back to her group that's staying here."

Alex nodded, "That was us. It was a good thing we found her in time, and even better that her mother was still so close."

Beth nodded in agreement, "Don't hear much about the outside world these days, daddy says that things are pretty dangerous out there. It's why he wants us to stay close to home."

"He's not wrong about that, but you all seem to be pretty safe." the host looked out over the farm. "It's very peaceful out here. Your family is lucky."

The blonde smiled at him again just before someone called out her name, both looking to see another young man with a cowboy hat standing not to far away motioning for her. "I gotta go now, but I hope we can talk again." Beth said kindly before making her way over.

Alex watched her go. _**"You know, it wouldn't hurt to stay a bit longer. The scenery is quite**_ **nice** _ **, wouldn't you agree."**_ said his other in a knowing tone.

 _"Don't start."_ the host replied before continuing on his walk.

 _ **"We said nothing..."**_ the symbiote replied innocently.

 **X**

In the room where Carl was recovering, Sophia sat in the armchair beside the bed, her leg proped up on the arm while she told her friend about what had happened while she was missing.

Despite being laid up and exhausted from his gunshot wound, the young Grimes was just happy to see the blonde girl again. Like everyone else, he was afraid that something had happened to her when they separated.

Even though he was unconscious for the last few days, one of the first things he thought about when he awoke was whether or not Sophia was alright.

"He's really nice, and really cool too!" Sophia said after telling Carl about Alex and how he helped her get back to the group.

"He's sounds awesome." Carl said weakly, still out of it from all the blood he had lost but already on the mend thanks to Hershel. "And my dad and the Greenes are letting him stay a while?"

Sophia nodded, "Yeah. Maybe he could join our group."

A knock on the door had the kids looking up to see Alex standing in the threshold. "Hey, we're not interrupting anything are we?"

"Alex!" the young blonde exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

"Just thought we'd come see how you were doing, Soph." replied the host before looking at the boy in the bed beside her. "This must be Carl. Your folks told us about what happened, someone upstairs must really love you, kid."

"Sophia told me how you saved her." said Carl, making Alex glance at Sophia briefly, "Thank you for bringing her back, she's my best friend."

The host smiled when he noticed the light blush on Sophia's cheeks and ruffled the boy's hair, "It's what we do, kid. And we figured we'd bring a little something for the two recovering mini-badasses." reaching into his pockets, he pulled out two chocolate bars and a couple cans of soda that he had brought in from his car.

Both kids took the candy with wide smiles, "I can't remember the last time I had chocolate or Pepsi." said Sophia with bright eyes as she took a bite out of the bar she was given.

Since Carl couldn't move around too much, Alex opened the beverage for him. "Thanks." he said before taking a long drink from the can, not at all bothered by the warm temperature.

"Looks like a party in here." Said Lori as she and Carol made themselves known.

"We hope you don't mind. The kids looked like they could use the pick me up." said the host.

"It's no problem at all." said Carol as she went over and sat beside her daughter.

Lori nodded in agreement as she sat beside her son. "Glenn went out with Hershel's daughter to get a couple things from the local pharmacy. The supplies you gave us were a godsend, but we need a few other things." she said while running her fingers through Carl's hair.

 _ **"We can guess what one of those things might be."**_ Alex heard his other whisper.

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _ **"The brunette is with spawnling. We can sense it. One of the items she is looking for is more than likely a test to confirm it."**_

Alex kept the surprise off his face as best he could, it had been a long time since he had heard about someone expecting a child. It was certainly a miracle, but it was also a very troubling situation given the world that the baby would be born into. And from the emotions coming off Lori, she was beside herself on what to do about it.

"You both have pretty amazing kids." he said, taking his mind off the current discovey. "Cherish them."

"Thank you." Lori said back with a smile, Carol doing similar as Alex flashed a thumbs up at Sophia and Carl before taking his leave.

"Is he joining our group, mom?" asked Carl. "Sophia said he was awesome at taking down walkers."

Lori looked at her son and bit her lip, "I don't know, sweetie. It's up to him and your father if he wanted to or not I suppose."

"I don't see why he wouldn't." Carol added, "With things as bad as they are out there, sticking together would be better than being alone."

Sophia didn't say anything, taking a sip from her soda while looking out the door where her new friend had gone. Remembering everything she had seen when he had saved her, secretly hoping that he would want to be part of their group...and also hoping that the others would accept him, and his other, should they make themselves known.

Outside the room, Alex leaned against the wall and had heard what was being said. An internal debate going on in his head once again like earlier.

With a sigh he stepped away from the wall and made his way toward the stairs. Coming to a stop when he saw Shane standing there with his arms crossed and a hard look on his face. "Getting comfortable?" he asked with a clipped tone.

"In a way." replied the host, immediately on guard given how he didn't like the way the other man was sizing him up.

"Well don't expect it to last." the former deputy continued, "We got enough people to worry about, we don't need anyone else to be a hindrance on our supplies."

Alex narrowed his eyes, "Seeing as how we gave you folks a good portion of ours out of kindness, that seems a bit more than a little underhanded if you ask us. And the last time we checked, this was the Greene's farm, not yours."

Shane's eyes flashed back darkly in response, "Everyone else may have some notion that your a straight shooter, but I know your type." he said, taking a step closer, "As far as I'm concerned, you can't be trusted. And the sooner you get lost, the better it will be for everyone."

The host stepped up as well, the two men equal in height and neither backing down. "We also know your type as well." the younger man said lowly, "We've seen people like you out there, those who want control, but can't get it. Who will do anything and everything to appear superior, even if it means hurting others to do it."

The air became tense between them. "Even if we're not part of this group, if you do anything to hurt the people here, we WILL put an end to it." Alex said sharply.

"That a threat?" Shane asked, uncrossing his arms and clenching his fists.

A predatory smile spread on Alex's face, "We don't make threats, we make promises. Remember that." without another word he brushed past the other man and went down the stairs. The former deputy watching him like a hawk as he left.

From the open doorway, Lori had seen and heard everything. Worry filling the pit of her gut as she recalled the dark changes that had occured with Shane since Rick came back into their lives. Something in the depth of her soul telling her that the man had done something horrible, and from the whispers and worried looks she had seen amongst the others, she wasn't the only one to notice.

 _"Shane...what did you do?"_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Been a while since my last update here, but with so many waiting there was no way in hell I was going to leave you all in the weeds!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Venom or The Walking Dead.**

An hour after his encounter with Shane, Alex laid on his back looking up at the sky on the roof of Dale's RV. The man himself sitting in a lawn chair next to him with Glenn standing and looking through a pair of binoculars into the distance.

"All we're saying is that you have that Old Man and the Sea vibe about you." the host said to Dale, the two of them having a conversation for a few minutes now. "Only your boat is this rust bucket, and the sea is a bunch of rotters."

The older man chuckled while patting the roof of the RV, "She may be a rust bucket, but she's gotten us pretty far through all of this. And watch who you callin' old! I still got a few more years in me yet."

"Keep telling yourself that, grandpa." Glenn threw in, getting a mock glare from Dale. "So, Alex, where were you when the world went to hell?"

"Newark." replied Alex, "Was living there for about a year after leaving Brooklyn, woke up one morning and saw people eating each other in the streets."

"Yeah, it was pretty much the same for all of us." said Glenn as he went back to watching.

Dale took a drink from the water bottle he had nearby, "How long you planning on staying around?"

"Probably a day or two. After that we haven't decided which way to go." said the host.

"You could always stick with us. I'm pretty sure Rick and the others will be more than happy to have an extra set of hands around." said Glenn.

"Not sure how well that will go with some people." Alex replied, "Shane seems to have it out for us."

Dale shook his head, "Don't know what's gotten into that man's head as of late, but he's not making many friends with everyone else. You shouldn't worry too much."

"Who said we were worried?" the younger man replied with a shrug as he continued to watch a couple clouds float overhead. The three of them lapsed into silence for a long while as the day passed by.

 _ **"The days are getting shorter, and colder."**_ his other said, having sensed the changes in the weather as of late. The symbiote not being a fan of the cold when the temperature started dropping.

 _"Fall's coming. Might need to reconsider the idea of going South for a while."_ Alex thought back. _"Pretty sure we can handle the smell of burn zombie for a few months."_

 _ **"Could see Disney World."**_ offered the symbiote.

The host rolled his eyes, _"Yeah... the Happiest Necropolis on Earth..."_ their mental conversation was halted when Maggie came out onto the porch of the house and called out that dinner was ready. The men climbed down from the RV and made their way inside where everyone else was already gathered around the table.

Given the large number of people, one or two had to stand off to the side while the others took a seat. Rick and Lori were having dinner in the room where their son was resting, food being brought up to them by Beth before she came back down and joined her family.

When dinner was passed out, small conversations broke out among the group. Dale and Hershel having a deep discussion about the latter's profession with animals. Glenn and Maggie kept sending each other fleeting glances from their sides of the room, an awkward aura around them both ever since they came back from their run into town.

Alex watched the others interact with one another as he ate silently, feeling the daggers being glared at him from Shane who didn't touch his plate. Andrea beside him, also sending looks his way that were hardly better.

It was obvious that the former deputy told her about them facing off and she immediately took his side in the matter.

The host merely ignored them and focused elsewhere;

"I ain't bullshittin'!" Daryl said to Dale, "Swear up and down it was a damn Chupacabra. Merle thought I was full of it, but I know what I saw."

"There is stranger shit out there these days." T-Dog threw in.

"Otis had a story that was similar." said Hershel, sending a sympathetic look at Patricia given her husband's recent death. "Said that he saw something out in the woods hunting a few weeks back."

"Really?" asked Carol, a little curious, "Did he say what he had seen?"

The farmer put his fork down and wiped his mouth, "I recall him being pretty shaken up when he came back from hunting. He said that he had gone out pretty far to the East given most of the local game moved elsewhere, managing to track a deer a couple miles when he came across a field...that's where he saw it."

Everyone had quieted down and listened to Hershel as he continued. "Otis said it was large, bigger than a man and stood on two legs. Skin blacker than an oil slick with claws that looked sharper than his hunting knife and a mouth filled with teeth like a shark."

"You sure he wasn't just drinking out there?" Shane said from his place, not really bothering to care about the story.

Patricia glared at the man, "Otis never drank when hunting. Whatever he saw out there, it scared him so bad he didn't sleep well for days and refused to leave the property until recently."

"You're tryin' to tell us that there's somethin' else out there other than walkers?" asked Daryl.

"Hard to say." said Hershel. "Regardless, I think it's best if you all are going out there for one reason or another you shouldn't be alone."

Alex had remained silent on the outside, but on the inside he was having another conversation with his other;

 _"I_ knew _that we were spotted by someone that day."_ said the host, cursing his carelessness in thinking he had been alone out in the woods.

 _ **"Can't change the past now, though we doubt anyone except for the young spawnling we saved can make the connection."**_

At the mention of Sophia, Alex looked toward the girl and saw her glancing back with concern. He sent her a smile before making his way into the kitchen to put his empty plate in the sink.

All the while wondering if he should move the time of his departure up a notch or two.

 **X**

Upstairs, Rick watched as Carl slept. Lori having taken their empty plates downstairs after their son had gone to sleep.

He didn't know what he would have done if they lost him, after waking up with so much already being lost, the only thing that kept him going was his family that he was thankful were still alive.

The former sheriff owed his best friend a lot for keeping them safe, but a part of him couldn't help but think that there was friction between his wife and Shane. Though both of them were tight lipped about it, he could see the tension clearly between them making him wonder what had happened for things to get that way.

Rick perked up when he saw Carl's eyes open, "Hey buddy, how you feelin'?" he asked.

"Still sore, but not as bad." the boy replied as he shifted around a bit. "Where's mom?"

"She'll be on her way back, just went to drop dishes off." the man replied, running his hand through his son's hair. "She told me you met our new friend earlier."

Carl smiled, "Yeah, Alex is pretty cool. Sophia said he took down the walkers that were after her super fast. He talks kinda funny though."

Rick chuckled, "That he does. He's gonna be around for a bit before setting off on his own." he saw Carl frown.

"Oh. That...that sucks." the boy muttered.

"I take it you're not too keen on him leavin'?" Rick asked.

Carl nodded, "Yeah, and Sophia will be upset too. She was hoping he would join our group. I mean, you said we all gotta stick together and everything."

"That I did." the former sheriff replied, "I'll have to talk to him and the others before any decisions can be made about that. Until then you just try to rest as much as you can, alright?"

Carl nodded and smiled, "Hey, I'm like you now. We've both been shot. Isn't that weird?"

Father and son both laughed at that fact. "I think your mother would prefer it if we had the same eyes. So lets keep that between us, okay? But since you're in the club now, you get to wear that hat now. Didn't you know?" Rick picked up his sheriff's hat and put it on Carl's head. "We'll pad the rim tomorrow, so that it sits better."

Carl ran his fingers along the rim of his dad's hat, "Won't you miss it?"

"Maybe I'll ask you to borrow it from time to time." replied his dad with a smile.

"We can share it." Carl added, making Rick nod before tucking his son in. "I love you, dad."

"I love you too. Get some sleep, alright?" Standing, Rick made for the door where Lori was leaning against the frame waiting for him. The two parents leaving the room and quietly closing the door behind them, "Guess our new arrival has already started getting to know everybody."

"He was pretty good with the kids, and Carol said Sophia talks about him like he's some kind of superhero." replied Lori. "I guess things could be worse."

"And the idea of him staying with our people?" Rick inquired.

His wife bit her lip, "He and Shane aren't on the best of terms. He's pretty adamant about making sure Alex is gone sooner than later."

Rick ran a hand through his hair before going into the room next to the one Carl was sleeping in. Taking off his badge and setting it on a dresser before looking himself in the mirror mounted on the back.

Removing his shirts, he looked down at the circular scar on his right side. The injury he had gotten that put him in the coma before the world fell apart.

Lori came in up behind him, wrapping her arms gently around his waist and kissing his cheek. "Get some rest, I'll stay up a bit longer." Rick nodded, feeling his wife give him one last kiss before walking out of the room.

Outside the house, Lori made sure she was far enough from where everyone was before taking out the pregnancy test she had Glenn pick up earlier that day. Sighing deeply, she made her way out into the field, far enough out of sight to do what she needed...

 **X**

At the same time, Alex was laying on his back on the porch roof of the house, hands behind his head as he looked up at the sea of stars above. It was one of the things about the rural part of Georgia that he actually liked, being able to see the night sky as clearly as this. It was peaceful.

 _"You ever miss it?"_ he asked his other suddenly.

 _ **"At times. But don't forget that we were exiled from our home, it leaves a bitter feeling when those memories appear."**_ replied the symbiote.

 _"Guess that's something we have in common. Neither of our homes wanted us."_ Alex thought back with a sense of bitterness. _"And sadly, there still doesn't seem to be a home out there for us."_

 _ **"That doesn't sound like the optimistic host we've come to bond with."**_

Alex shrugged, _"I'm entitled to be a glass half full every once in a while."_ he kept his gaze on the billions of stars above when he heard one of the windows nearby open.

Tilting his head to get a better look, he saw Beth climbing out the window of what was more than likely her bedroom. A white nightgown covering her frame with her hair done up in a bun. When her bare feet were on the shingles of the roof, she turned to close her window only to jump slightly when she saw that she wasn't alone.

"We seem to be making a habit of making you jump." Alex said with a calm smile, remaining in his lounging position.

"I guess so," Beth replied, after calming down from her slight scare. "What are you doing out here?"

Shrugging, the host looked back up to the clear night sky, "We like to get up high, look at the stars and think sometimes. It helps."

Soft footsteps on the shingles told him the blonde was coming his way, sitting down beside him with her knees drawn to her chest with her own eyes looking toward the heavens. "I like to do this a lot too. It's pretty out here."

"Definitely a better view than in the city." Alex replied, "All the lights would block the stars, out here, it's crystal clear."

Beth looked over at him with a curious gaze, "What was it like? Living in a big city before everything..." she trailed off but he understood the question.

"Crowded is the best we can describe it. A lot of activity and day to day life. You'd be lucky to find a moment of peace and quiet depending on where you were living." Alex answered. "We honestly don't miss it much."

He turned his head and looked back at her, "What's it like living out here on a farm?"

"Too quiet at times." replied Beth, shrugging a delicate shoulder. "All of us grew up here. I always wanted to seem more of what was out there, daddy's pretty strict though. You should have seen him back when Jimmy and I were together."

"Jimmy?" Alex wondered.

"He was the one I went to talk to when we first met." the blonde answered. "We were together for a while, he always helped here on the farm. But things didn't really work out for us in the end, we're still friends though, thankfully."

Alex didn't know why, but hearing that little tidbit of information made his chest tense for a brief moment. His other chuckled in the back of his mind before going silent.

The two of them talked for a long while, about casual things like their favorite foods and music, or even a couple random stories. Beth found his way of speaking a little funny but had quickly grown accustomed to it while Alex would occasionally stumble on a word when those beautiful blue orbs caught his eyes.

He would be lying if he didn't find the blonde southern-belle attractive. The way she smiled and the bright look in her eyes when she did was hypnotic...Alex felt like he could drown in those eyes.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while the crisp night air blowing softly around them causing Beth to shiver a bit. "You should head inside where its warm." said Alex, not willing to see her getting cold.

"It is getting pretty late." Beth said, stifling a yawn. The host stood, offering her his hand that she took with another smile as he helped her up and walked her back to her window. "Thank you." she said as she opened the window and climbed inside gracefully.

"Not a problem." Alex said back with a smile of his own, "See you tomorrow?" he asked, hope unconsciously slipping into his tone.

Beth smiled again and nodded to him before closing the window and pulling the blinds.

There was barely a second of silence before the symbiote laughed in his mind.

 _"What?!"_ Alex thought back, being momentarily thrown off from the sudden guffaw.

 _ **"The female has ensnared you!"**_ his other laughed again. _**"Only two meetings and the urge to mate is strong, we can sense it clearly!"**_

Alex had the decency to blush, _"It's...It's nothing like that! We just talked-"_

 _ **"You forget we are one. We feel all that you do. And we must admit, she would be an ideal mate for you."**_ said the symbiote. _**"She is small, frail even. But we can sense her spirit, her compassion. After everything you have endured, you deserve someone such as her."**_

The host paused, sending a look at the now darkened window where the blonde angel most likely slumbered. _"...but she doesn't deserve someone like us...Not with what we've done."_ he thought morosely.

His other sending him calming vibrations through their bond but Alex shook them off as he walked slowly to the edge of the farm house roof, bending his knees and launching into the air before firing a line of black webbing from his hand and swinging into the nearby trees where he set up a hammock made from the same webbing for him to sleep in.

Getting comfortable, Alex stared up at the sky one last time before slipping into a light slumber. Both he and his other unaware that things on the Greene farm were about to take a turn for the worst.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I'm back in my groove again! And with the outpouring of support from you readers, I couldn't wait a moment longer to get this up and ready. So this is for all of you!**

It was around noon the following day, and Alex found himself in the woods roughly two miles away from the farm. A compound bow in his hands with a quiver of arrows slung over his shoulder as he walked a couple steps behind Daryl who had his crossbow at the ready.

Even with their food supplies stable for the time being, the redneck thought it best to put fresh meat on the table for everyone while keeping his skills sharp at the same time. Alex had been feeling a bit stir-crazy and offered to go with and lend a hand.

Daryl had been a little hesitant at first, but Rick had pulled him aside and told him it would be a good chance to learn more about their guest. The hunter grunted an alright before the two of them set off together.

For the last couple of hours they'd managed to bag a couple of squirrels, rabbits and a raccoon, but nothing really worthwhile yet.

"You're pretty good with that bow." Daryl said, his voice low to avoid scaring off any potential meals.

"You learn pretty quick with food supplies running low every now and again." Alex replied, eyes scanning the nearby foliage while his other spread its own senses to pick up anything.

The hunter nodded silently as they trekked farther into the woods. From what he had seen thus far, and from what he'd heard from the few people in their group who had gotten to know him already, Cross was a decent enough guy. Didn't start shit and even helped out wherever he could.

Dale had said nothing but good things as well, and he was the best judge of character in their group.

 _ **"The hunter is weary of us."**_ Alex heard his other hiss in the back of his mind, _**"He's had an eye on us the entire time since leaving the farm."**_

 _"Not surprised."_ the host thought back, _"Rick or one of the others probably asked him to keep a lookout encase we did something. Smart move on their part."_

The sound of leaves shifting had both men aiming their weapons in that direction. Following the noise, they entered a small clearing and were greeted with the sight of a walker hanging by a noose from a tall tree branch. Its lower half nothing more than exposed bones and torn, bloody flesh.

It growled and reached for them when they came into view, but the rope held strong around its neck.

"The hell?" Daryl muttered.

"We've seen this before." said Alex, turning his attention to a note nailed to the tree beneath the undead that read; _'Got bit. Fever hit. World gone to shit. Might as well quit.'_ "Poor bastard saw and lost too much, decided to end things on his terms."

"Dumbass didn't think to shoot himself in the head. Now he's just a big piece of swingin' bait." said Daryl.

Following the line of rope that held the walker up, Alex took out a hunting knife and cut it down. The body hitting the ground where he put his booted foot on the back of its neck and drove the blade to the back of its head.

"It would keep attracting more. Better for the living this way." he said before the redneck could question his motives while shaking the blood from his knife and slipping it back into place.

With the situation well in hand, they started back on their hunting trip. Another hour coming and going before they decided to take a break by a small stream, digging into some snacks and water they brought along.

Everything was quiet, save for the trickling of the stream and a few birds chirping overhead.

"You know, its best to deal with an interrogation head on instead of putting it off." Alex said, suddenly breaking the silence and having Daryl look up at him. "Come on, we've seen you watching us out of the corner of your eye since we left the farm. We'd bet money that Rick wanted you to question us while we were out here."

The hunter swallowed his current bite before setting aside the empty wrappers, "Yeah, somethin' like that." he admitted, not really bothering with trying to deny it since he was already found out and a little surprised at the younger man's alertness. "Rick's thinkin' of having you join our group. Strength in numbers an all that shit."

Alex nodded, figuring that was one of a handful of reasons. "You're thoughts on that?" he asked.

"You done right by us so far. Can't be too bad savin' a little girl and offerin' supplies without another reason." Daryl replied honestly.

"Like we said before, not everyone out there are assholes." the host said back, taking a sip of water. "There really isn't a whole lot of good left out there. It's mostly every man for themselves. Personally, we think that just because the world ended doesn't mean we should lose ourselves in the process."

He sent a meaningful look at the other man, "You're group wasn't the first we've helped. A lot of people held onto the hope that everything would be right again one day, and maybe they were right to believe that. But right now, always assuming someone has the best intentions is stupid and foolish. Too many people had to learn that the hard way."

"Sounds like you've been through some shit." Daryl commented.

Alex chuckled humorlessly, "If you only knew. No one out there's a saint, not anymore, us included. We've done things that we wish we hadn't for the sake of someone else." he stared off into the distance, reflecting on a couple of memories for a moment before coming back to the present, "As for whether or not we're going to join your group, it's hard to say yes or no at this moment. Too much to consider on our part."

Daryl wondered what he had meant by that, but decided to leave it alone for now as they got ready to head out again.

Even though he still had his reservations, the hunter couldn't find any fault with having Alex join them. It'd be nice for someone else to help catch some game every now and again.

 **X**

A few days had passed since the hunting trip and Alex had gotten familiar with just about everyone on the Greene farm save for Shane who both continued to send scathing glares at one another every time they were in the same room.

Carl had gotten a lot better and was able to be up and around with everyone else, and with a good amount of convincing on everyone's part a shooting range was set up a good distance from the farm so that people in the group who couldn't shoot could learn how.

Hershel was against it, but the group was keeping their promise about weapons on his property and let the matter go after a while.

Still offering what help he could, Alex had been there offering tips to the 'trainees'. Focusing a good portion of his attention to Sophia and Carl as they struggled with their firearms.

Rick looked on with a serious expression, keeping a close eye on his son a bit more than the others. Lori had been strongly against Carl learning to shoot, even more so since he just got back on his feet from his injury. It took a great deal of convincing, but he managed to get through to her that their son needed to learn to protect himself if for any reason neither of them or anyone in the group was there.

Since then she'd been quiet and walled off. Rick had a feeling that there was something else going on with his wife, that she was keeping something from him but put it off as overthinking too much given the amount of stress they had all been under days ago.

"I still think it's a bad idea." Shane said, coming up to stand beside him with his dark eyes locked onto Alex as he helped readjust Carol's aim to better hit her target.

Rick sighed, rubbing his eyes as his friend once again brought forward his issues about Alex being here with them. "So you've said, Shane. But so far he's done nothin' against anyone. No one else seems to have an issue with him either."

Shane said nothing, instead shaking his head and stomping over to help Andrea and leaving the former sheriff on his own. Rick couldn't understand what Shane's issue was with Alex. He could understand a bit of mistrust in the beginning, but now it seemed he was going out of his way to get the younger man booted out of here.

Glenn had even told him that Shane had been trying to get the others on his side on the issue, but so far no one else was agreeing with him in the slightest.

He hadn't brought up the idea of Alex joining the group just yet, though he did confide in Daryl and Dale for their input since they seemed to spend the most time around him. They needed all the help they could get to survive out here, and Rick didn't really feel like turning away someone who could give them a better chance at doing that.

When shooting practice ended sometime later, everyone went back to the farm and spread out to help around.

Alex had decided to ask Hershel if there was anything he could help with, the vet telling him that some hay-bales needed to be put away if he was interested and the host got to work. Finding a bathroom and shifting his clothes to a black wife-beater and cargo shorts that showed off his muscular form before heading out to the field and getting to work.

His strength made it easy to get the job done, though he had to dial it back a bit so that no one noticed just how strong he really was.

The last time he tested his enhanced strength, he'd managed to lift a flatbed truck as though it weighed a fraction of what it really was and throwing it a good 75 meters away.

If no one was around, he could get this minor job done in under a minute. Instead, he took his time and actually enjoyed himself while working on the farm. It was certainly relaxing.

Grabbing the last bale, Alex walked with it to where the horses were set up and set it down in the spot where they got their food. The animals originally avoided him, given they could more than likely sense what he was, but after a while they seemed to get comfortable in his presence and didn't mind him much.

Smiling a bit as the horses dug into the hay, Alex began making his way back to the house when he heard voices coming from the otherside of the small barn the animals were in. Curious, he walked around the corner and peeked around to see Beth and Jimmy in a heated argument.

"For the last time, it's none of your business!" Beth said to the boy, her posture tense.

"I've seen the way he looks at you!" Jimmy snapped back, "He's bad, Beth. I don't know how I know but I do. Even some folks in that group your dad brought in are weary of him!"

The blonde leaned back, her arms crossing over her chest. "I think I can judge his character well enough on my own. And besides, we just talk and spend time together. We're not doing anything you're clearly insinuating."

"Does your father know how much time you spend with him?" Jimmy said with a slight air of smugness, "If he had issues with US being together what do you think he'll say about you and-"

"That's what this is about?!" Beth exclaimed, "Are you telling me that your _jealous_ of Alex?"

Alex blinked in surprise; they were fighting about _him_?

"I am NOT JEALOUS of that yankee!" the farm hand spat out, his face turning red with either anger or embarrassment.

 _ **"He lies."**_ the symbiote said in Alex's mind, _**"We can sense it coming off him in waves. He more than likely believes you're taking his former mate farther from his grasp."**_

Alex didn't know whether to feel smug or worried about that and instead focused on what was happening infront of him.

"Jimmy, we broke up months ago." Beth said, clearly not wanting this argument to continue. "And you know clearly why it had to end. I don't need you to look out for me like this." she turned to leave, but Jimmy snapped out and grabbed her arm.

"No, Beth, you need to listen to me!"

"Let go!" the blonde shouted, trying to pull her arm away but he gripped her tighter, refusing to.

"HEY!"

The former couple jumped as Alex made his presence known, "We think the lady asked nicely." he said with a hard edge in his tone.

Jimmy squared his shoulders and puffed his chest out, trying to make himself look bigger but failing given Alex's height and mass. "This doesn't concern you."

"We tend to make it our business when a woman becomes upset." the host replied, stopping right infront of the farm hand and leering down at him. "And we think it best for you to move on before you do something foolish."

Alex saw the boy's hand clench into a fist and start shaking, he smirked. "Go ahead, cowboy. But the first shot better count. Because there won't be a second one." His tone and the calm way he spoke was enough to make Jimmy sweat and swallow a gathering lump in his throat.

"Enough." Beth stated, getting between the two, "Jimmy, I've said my piece. Leave."

"But, Beth-" Jimmy stopped when he saw the look the blonde had given him. Gnashing his teeth, he turned on his heel and stormed away.

When he was gone, Alex looked down at Beth and sighed, "Sorry, we heard arguing and came to check it out. We didn't mean to eavesdrop."

The blonde smiled up at him, "No, it's okay. I didn't expect things to get out of hand like that. Jimmy was always overprotective, but he was over the line about what we were discussing."

"Us?" Alex said giving her a meaningful look.

At first Beth thought he was talking about the two of them, but then realized, given his odd speech, he was referring to himself. "Yes. He's seen us hanging around together a lot and he thinks you're a bad influence on me."

The host raised an eyebrow, "Does he expect us to kidnap you in the dead of night and take you off somewhere to elope? Sorry, not our style. Even though we do kinda fit the badboy profile to the letter." he stated in mock seriousness which got the southern-belle to laugh a little and he to smile.

"I think, despite how you look, you're too good of a person to be considered a 'badboy'." Beth said while patting his arm.

The smile faded from Alex's face a bit, "Good person, huh?" he mumbled to himself, but the blonde managed to catch it.

"Something wrong?" she asked, wondering if she upset him somehow.

"No, it's just...at times it doesn't feel that way to us." Alex admitted, "The world's become a very cruel place. It's hard to not fall into it if you're not careful."

Beth tilted her head questioningly, "I'm sure it can't be that bad."

Both host and symbiote winced mentally, she had no idea just how wrong she was. But before he could voice that, they heard a loud ringing from back at the farm house.

"Lunch is ready, come on, we better get there quick." Beth said, taking his hand and leading him back to the house. Her small, delicate hand in his large, rougher one felt nice. A warm feeling spreading through Alex at the small contact.

Despite his inner turmoil, he decided to just enjoy the moment while it lasted.

 **X**

Given the nice weather outside, the group were together under the shade of the trees around their campsite enjoying their meal.

Alex sat on the roof of the RV, legs hanging over the side having finished lunch a while ago and was having a mental conversation with his other when Glenn came up to them. The Korean's expression a combination of disturbed and shock.

"Something wrong, Glenn?" Carol asked, having noticed the look on the younger man's face and drawing the attention of the others.

Glenn swallowed, "Uh...there's walkers in the barn."

His statement caused everyone to stop what they were doing and look at him in horror before erupting in a chorus of outrage. Taking several minutes for the group to calm down and heading to the barn. Barely making it a couple feet from the building when the familiar sound of grunts and groaning could be heard within.

Daryl, who was at the head of the group, got a closer look and peered through an opening between the wooden boards. Only to stumble back when one of the undead slammed against the wall.

"Guess this explains why the doors were always locked..." Glenn said from beside Alex, the host not taking his eyes off the barn while feeling his other slithering just beneath the surface in preparation for a fight.

"You cannot tell me you're alright with this." Shane snapped at Rick when they confirmed Glenn's findings.

"I'm not," the former sheriff relayed, "But we're guests here. This isn't our land."

"For fuck's sake! This is our lives!" Shane bellowed, his patience wearing thin about the whole situation.

"Shh!" Alex hissed as the walkers in the barn started to get louder, "If you two are going to duke it out, take that shit elsewhere before the rotters tear down the walls." his words had the whole group taking several long steps away from the barn to be on the safe side.

"None of this is right." Carol said, keeping Sophia close to her side, "There's danger literally within feet of our camp."

"Way I see it, we got two choices." said Shane, "We either go in there, and make things right. Or we leave. We've been talking about Fort Benning for a while."

"We can't go." said Rick.

"Why the hell not, Rick?!" his friend demanded.

"We have nowhere else to go!" Lori butted in, "Winter's coming fast, there's no way we'll be able to find shelter before the cold weather sets in."

"So you'd prefer to live on land with the dead within reach?!" Shane pressed, "Look, it's either one or the other. Our lives are more important than dealing with this shit."

Rick rubbed his eyes, "Let me talk to Hershel, try and figure this out."

"What's there to figure out?!" said Shane in disbelief.

"If we're gonna stay, if we're gonna clear this barn, I'm gonna talk Hershel into it. This is his land."

Dale sighed, "Hershel sees those things as people." he admitted, garnering everyone's attention. "He thinks they're sick. His wife and stepson are in there."

"You knew?" Rick said wide eyed.

"Yesterday, Hershel and I talked about it." the older man answered.

"And you waited until now to say somethin'?!" Shane exclaimed.

Dale gave him a look, "I thought we could survive the night, and we did. I was waiting until today to say something, but Glenn wanted to be the one to do it."

"The man's crazy, Rick." Shane said to his friend, "If he thinks these things are still alive he's lost it!"

The doors to the barn rattled, the walkers getting more riled up hearing all the shouting while everyone backed up even more.

 _ **"As much as it pains us to admit, Shane is not wrong."**_ Alex heard from his other, _**"These things stopped being people the moment they started rotting. The old farmer must be trapped in denial with the loss of his mate."**_

 _"This does not bode well..."_ the host thought back, looking toward the barn again as the doors continued to rattle.

 **X**

Rick had told everyone to avoid the barn at all costs, though it wasn't needed since no one in their right mind would go anywhere near a building filled with the living dead. The former sheriff then went off with Hershel to try and convince him to let them deal with the walkers on his property.

Since he had left, everyone had been on pins and needles. Even though they tried to continue on despite the knowledge they now had. Alex remained on the RV's roof, his focus centered on the barn. Being sure that none of the walkers inside managed to get out.

His attention was diverted when he saw Shane coming out of one of the tents with his group's large bag of guns and make for the others. "Aw, hell." Alex muttered, Dale coming up beside him and seeing the same thing.

"What is he doing now?" They both climbed down from the RV and followed the man as he started handing out weapons to everyone.

"It's time to grow up." the former deputy stated.

"I thought we weren't carrying." said T-Dog.

"We can if we have to," Shane replied sharply, "Look, it was one thing sitting around here picking daisies when we thought this place was safe. But now we know it ain't." he turned his attention to Glenn, "How bout it, man? You gonna protect yours?" he asked, handing him a rifle.

Hesitantly, Glenn took the gun. "Can you stop!" Maggie demanded, "You do this, you hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight!"

"What the hell's going on?" Lori said as she, Carl, Beth and Patricia came out of the house.

"We're not leavin'." Shane stated with finality, "Hershel, he's just gotta understand, okay? Well, he's gonna have to." he took out a couple of pistols and handed them to Carl and Sophia, "Both of you protect your mothers, understand?"

Both weapons were taken from his hands and Alex stood between him and the kids. "You're not doing this."

"Pretty sure you have no say in the matter." Shane said back snidely.

"Although we agree with what you said regarding all this, this isn't the way to deal with it." the host, "This isn't your decision to make. You need to step back."

The former deputy got into Alex's face, "No, I think YOU need to step back and don't but in where you're not wanted!" The air became tense as the two men squared off, most of the others holding their breath wondering what was going to happen.

"Rick said no guns." Lori said, stepping in before things got out of hand, "Alex is right, this isn't your decision to make, Shane."

"What the fuck..." T-Dog said, drawing everyone's gazes to where he was looking and were shocked to see Rick, Hershel and Jimmy coming out of the woods with two walkers on poll leashes towards the barn.

Shane snarled before dashing toward them, the others right behind him.

"Shane, just let us do this and then we can talk." Rick tried to reason while keeping the struggling walker under control.

"What?!" his friend yelled, "What'cha wanna talk about, Rick?! These things aren't sick! They aren't people anymore! They're dead! Ain't gonna feel nothin' for'em! Cause' all they do is kill! These things killed Amy! Killed Otis! They're gonna kill us!"

"Shane, shut up!" Rick argued back. Causing what little patience Shane had left to snap.

"Hey, Hershel, let me ask you somethin'. Could a living breathing person walk away from this?!" Shane took out his gun and shot the female walker the farmer had been herding in the chest three times. "WHY'S IT STILL COMING?!" he yelled at the older man who had stopped cold in his tracks before firing into the undead a second time, "THAT'S IT'S HEART AND LUNGS! WHY'S IT STILL COMING?"

"SHANE ENOUGH!" Rick shouted back.

The former deputy sneered at him, "Yeah, you're right, man. That is enough." he raised his weapon and shot the walker through the head, killing it completely. Hershel sinking to his knees beside it, reality finally settling in for him.

"Enough risking our lives for stupid ass beliefs!" Shane said to the others, "Enough living next to a damn barn full of things that are trying to kill us! Enough! Rick, it ain't like it was before! And if ya'll wanna live, if you wanna survive, you gotta fight for it!" he shot the walker Rick was holding before storming toward the barn.

"Shane stop!" Lori screamed after him, but he was already destroying the lock holding the barn doors closed and allowing the walkers to start pouring out.

 _"Stupid son of a bitch!"_ Alex shouted in his head before taking the pistols he had stopped from getting into the kids' hands and opened fire with the others at the coming horde. The echoes of the guns opening up shook the air as each undead that appeared dropped with their heads blown open.

The whole ordeal took less than 30 seconds, but to those looking on it might as well have been years...then the last walker came out of the almost empty barn.

Everyone felt their blood chill as a little girl around Carl and Sophia's age came shambling out, her clothes dirty and stained with dried blood while her limp red hair looked like it had been torn from her scalp in some places.

No one made a move at first, until Rick walked past everyone. Drawing his .357 and taking aim as the child-walker drew closer, a slow heartbeat passing before he fired the powerful gun, the bullet blowing out the back of the small undead's skull and sending the body collapsing to the ground with the others.

"Mama..." Beth crouched down beside a female walker that had once been a blonde-haired woman. Touching the corpse's face only for the eyes to suddenly snap open and its hands to grab her like a steep trap.

The young blonde screamed as her former mother tried to take a bite out of her, but a pair of strong arms quickly yanked her out of the walker's grip. Alex quickly shoved Beth into the arms of her sister as they walker tried to grab onto him, one of his hands combined with his weight keeping the creature on the ground as he took out a knife and quickly stabbed it in the temple, causing it to go still.

No one spoke for the longest time, Beth's sobs being heard clearly as she cried into Maggie's shoulder from everything that had just happened.

"I want you all off my land." Hershel sneered at Rick while holding both his daughters.

Shane spun on him and glared, "We ain't goin' nowhere." he raised his pistol and aimed it at the family much to the shock of everyone.

"Shane NO!" Rick shouted.

The former deputy's aim was suddenly jerked to the sky before a hard backhand sent him crashing to the dirt. When he shook away the daze from the hit, he looked up to see Alex standing over him. A look of damnation on his face.

"You've done enough." he said coldly, removing the clip and chambered round from the weapon and tossing all three in different directions.

"You sonova-" Shane was on his feet and charging the younger man, only to be stopped to an uppercut to his stomach which doubled him over with a knee swiftly driving into his face and knocking him flat on his back again.

Alex crossed his arms as the man got back to his feet again, crossing the distance and attempting to punch him. The host grabbed the arm and pulled to the side, driving his foot into the former deputy's midsection and tossing him to the side. "If you're smart, you'll stay down." he said as Shane got back up a third time.

Pulling a knife from his belt, ignorant to the cries of alarm from the others, Shane attacked wildly with the blade. Alex ducked and weaved around the strikes with ease, the man's movements like slow-motion to him and his enhanced reflexes before grabbing the wrist of the hand holding the knife and twisting it hard enough, making Shane cry out and drop the weapon before the host grabbed him by the throat with his other hand.

The former deputy found himself airborne as Alex raised him off the ground and choke-slammed him to the dirt, hard. He wasn't getting up this time.

"We warned you." the host hissed at the man dangerously as he raised back to his full height-

A gunshot went off and everything around Alex slowed to a crawl, a loud buzzing at the back of his neck warning him of danger. His eyes going to the left where the 9mm bullet was heading straight for him, just before it could reach its target, he snapped his head to the side causing it to sail past him.

Time returned to its normal flow while the host glared at Andrea as she stood with her weapon raised, mouth agape as he slowly raised his head back upright. Everything went very quiet, no one able to form words having just seen the man literally dodge a bullet.

Not even bothering to address the woman, Alex turned to Rick. "If we were you, we'd keep a tight leash on this bastard. Because if he tries something like that again, we will BREAK him." his piece said, he turned and stormed off toward the fields.

 **A/N: Shane's been put in his place the hard way, but with how things are at the moment, and with what is coming next for everyone, things will only become more strained among the group. And there's no telling if and when Venom will make an appearance. But that is for another time.**

 **Read, review and kick ass folks! Update coming soon!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: With how the last chapter ended, it was a little bit of a downer going back to there being no good fighting...but with what is soon to be coming there will be more than enough time to make up for it.**

 **With Comic-Con revealing the anticipated Season 9 of The Walking Dead, and with the send off of Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) there had better be a new badass leader to take the reigns when the time comes. But in the mean time, I've got my own version of TWD to get back to!**

He had to get away for a while, he needed to be alone and have time to think to himself for a while.

Alex didn't regret what he had done. Not in the least. Shane had crossed the line, and he stepped even further over it when he threatened Hershel and his family. There was no way he was going to let any harm come to the farmer or his daughters, especially with them being given the horrible truth about the walkers they had been keeping and the true fate of their family members.

What the host did blame himself for was the open display of his prowess. Granted, he had held back a great deal when laying into Shane, he could have killed the sociopath easily but kept himself in check for the sake of everyone who was watching.

Then the blonde bitch had to go and take a pot-shot at him, and he wasn't going to take a bullet to the head because she couldn't deal with watching her boytoy get his ass kicked.

 _ **"We still say you handled things perfectly well."**_ his other stated as they walked along the edge of the forest around the property. _**"It could certainly have been worse."**_

 _"I don't regret it."_ Alex thought back, hands in his pockets as he enjoyed the silence. _"But now the group is going to be keeping a closer eye on us after what happened."_ he came to a stop and looked back to the farm house, _"Maybe we should consider heading out on our own way."_

The symbiote sighed through their link, _**"We cannot keep running forever, you realize this yes?"**_

 _"We don't have a lot of options."_ the host replied back.

 _ **"Do we? This group here seems to like us save for a couple, would it be so wrong to stay with them?"**_ asked his other.

Alex sighed, "Until they discover the truth about us..." he said outloud under his breath. Memories of the last times the truth about him was revealed and the reactions it had created. The fear. The hatred. It didn't matter how much he had helped or how many lives he saved, he was always seen as a monster.

The symbiote didn't say anything to that as they two of them started making their way back onto the property where everyone was hard at work dealing with the walker bodies.

Hershel's wife and stepson were given proper burials while the other bodies were taken a ways away to be burned

When Alex arrived, several people in the group looked his way. Some with respect, others with a bit of weariness as he helped with the clean up. No words were spoken as they worked, by the time the sun started setting they were finished, physically and emotionally exhausted from the days events.

Feigning his own exhaustion, Alex took up his usual spot ontop of the RV and looked on as the group went in separate directions from one another. He saw Daryl moving his ten some distance away with Carol attempting to talk him out of it. Lori and Rick were having an argument through hushed words. Glenn was dotting on Maggie. And everyone else didn't seem to be in the mood to chat with one another.

Shane was nowhere in sight, more than likely licking his wounds and picking up what was left of his pride.

This group was fracturing, and if it kept going on like this they would break apart.

Alex had seen this happen, even with the dead up and walking people with different ideals clashed in the worst of ways, creating animosity and distrust.

 _"It's always the one asshole who starts it all too."_ he thought grimly in regards to Shane and his psychotic actions.

 _ **"He's better off dead."**_ his other replied darkly, _**"He will only get the others killed."**_

Shaking his head, Alex turned his attention to the setting sun when he heard someone coming up the small ladder at the back of the RV. Dale appearing a moment later, surprised to see the younger man already there.

"I wasn't expecting you, Alex." he said as he came onto the roof. "It's been a hell of a day."

"One way of putting it." said Alex, not taking his eyes off the horizon. "Your group is breaking."

Dale didn't respond to that and instead sat down beside the younger man, both of them sitting in relative silence for a few minutes. "It was a brave thing you did, defending Hershel like that."

"We wish we didn't have to." said Alex, "Shane is unhinged, a sociopath, dangerous to those around him. Whatever he was before the turn, he isn't that anymore. You all need to realize this before it's too late."

"Did you ever hear about what had happened here before you arrived? After Carl had been shot?" asked Dale, catching the host's attention. "Shane went out with the man who had accidentally hit Rick's boy, Otis. Only Shane came back. Saying that Otis died giving him a chance to get away with the medical supplies we needed..."

Alex got where he was going with this, "You think he was bullshitting?"

The older man nodded, "His attitude and demeanor did a complete turn around after that night. If he didn't have a hand in what happened to Otis I would be surprised. And it doesn't help that he keeps trying to get Lori and Carl alone whenever Rick isn't around."

"Our threat is still very much a reality." said the host. "If Shane puts anyone in danger again, we will deal with him."

Dale gave him a surprised look, "You sure that's the proper way to be thinking?"

"Let us be straight with you, Dale." Alex said seriously, "Although it's best to hold onto whatever sense of morality we have left, we can't always see the world in black and white. Not with how much things had changed."

"So you're saying we throw that part of us away just to go on?" the older man asked skeptically.

"What we're saying is that you need to make the hard call when lives are at risk, and at times you can't hesitate." the host turned his attention back to the almost completely set sun. "A few months ago, I think we were in Connecticut at the time, we were staying with a group who had managed to hold off a group or people attempting to raid them. There were two survivors that they decided to let go, they showed them mercy."

Alex's hands tightened into fists, "Those same two came back the following night with the rest of their group...and killed everyone." he turned and looked at Dale's shocked and horrified expression, "One act of mercy, resulted in the deaths of a lot of innocent people. Some of them children. Morality is something we should hold onto, but these days, some people can use that to get close enough to stab you in the back."

Dale swallowed before voicing the question at the tip of his thoughts. "What became of the raiders?"

"They'll never hurt anyone again." Alex jumped down from the RV and looked up at the older man. "We're no hero, Dale. But if it means protecting innocent people, we'll do what is needed to keep them safe...even if we come off looking like the monster."

Without another word, the host went in the direction of the house. Dale looking after him the whole way.

X

On the second floor of the farm house, Maggie sat in a chair beside her little sister's bed, holding her hand as Beth laid curled in on herself. The young blonde having been in a catatonic state ever since the incident with their undead mother.

Their father had left some time ago, more than likely gone to drown his sorrows at his favorite bar in town. Rick and Glenn volunteered to go out and bring him home, of which Maggie was thankful for as she stayed with Patricia and looked after Beth.

"How is she?" the older sister looked toward the door of the room and found Alex standing there.

"Traumatized." Maggie said, rubbing her sister's knuckles with her thumb soothingly. "Can't get her to eat, drink or talk.

Entering the room, Alex knelt down beside her. His own hand taking Beth's free one, letting her know he was there. "Neither of you deserved to see your mother and brother like that. We're sorry for what you and your family were put through."

Maggie looked at the host and offered him a gentle smile, "Thank you, for what you did. Saving Beth and our father."

"We'd do it again in a heart beat." Alex replied without hesitation. "We can understand why your father did what he did. Why he kept the rotters in the barn. But-"

"They weren't people anymore." the older woman said before he could, her green eyes cast down. "I know...Glenn made me see that the last time we went on a run. I was trying to convince dad about that, but the man's stubborn. Especially since mama and Shawn were in there."

"He held out hope that they could be saved, even if he was in denial." added the host, "There's nothing fair about what this world has become, even more so when we lose the people we love along the way."

Maggie nodded in agreement as they continued to keep Beth company until they heard Patricia calling for the older Greene.

"I need to help Patricia, will you stay with her?" she asked Alex who nodded without question as she got up and left the room, leaving the two alone.

Focusing on the blonde, he used both his hands to cup her smaller one. "We don't know if you can here us, Beth. But we're here and know what your going through." she blinked, her gaze still focused on nothing but he knew she could at least hear him.

"What attacked you, wasn't your mother anymore. Your mother and brother didn't deserve the fate they were given, their bodies being left lifeless husks. But they're in a better place now and aren't suffering anymore." Alex reached up and ran his hand over her blonde hair.

"This world has become cruel and unfair, everybody has lost loved ones. The only thing you can do is keep pushing forward, to live on in their memory."

A couple of tears slipped down Beth's cheeks, her eyes closed before she started sobbing. Alex gathered her up in his arms, moving from the floor to her bed and holding her close as she cried into his chest. His other sent a series of calming vibrations through his 'clothes' to help ease the distraught girl held in its host's arms.

"We know its hard." Alex kept speaking softly. "We've seen so many people give up, throw their lives away. We don't want to see that happen to you too. You can make it through this."

"...H...How?" Beth's voice was soft, almost a whisper.

He didn't know what she had meant at first, but answered when he did. "You're stronger than you realize, Beth. And we know that your mother wouldn't want you to give up, to let this world beat you."

The blonde shook her head, "I'm not...strong." she said between deep intakes of breath.

"Your wrong." Alex replied, shaking his head. "You have a strong heart that gives so much. It's just broken right now and needs time to heal. And you have your father and sister here to help you."

"And you..." Beth looked up at him, her blue eyes clouded by tears and emotional pain. "Please, don't leave..."

The host was conflicted, over an hour ago he was contemplating leaving the farm and striking out on his own again. Now here was this broken angel in his arms all but pleading him to stay...what could he do?

 _ **"We need to stay."**_ his other said softly. _**"She is in need and attaching herself to you like a pillar of strength. You've made quite the impression on her."**_

 _"But is it right for her?"_ Alex asked the symbiote while Beth nuzzled her head on his shoulder. _"We shouldn't be getting close if she will end up afraid of us in the end."_

 _ **"Perhaps you should allow**_ **her** _ **to decide that...along with the others."**_ his other answered simply.

 _"You're saying we should tell them the truth? Like with Sophia?"_ the host asked skeptically.

 _ **"Out of all the encounters we've had since all this began, we have never once come forward about what exactly we are until we saved the young spawnling."**_ replied the symbiote, _**"Perhaps it is something for us to consider this time around."**_

Alex couldn't help but think that his other had a good point. They've kept what they were a safely guarded secret ever since they became bonded, and each time they were found out had been when they were forced to become Venom in order to protect people.

But at the same time, he knew that people were naturally weary about things they didn't understand, especially when they could become a seven foot beast made of muscle with a mouth that would make Jaws jealous.

Looking back down at Beth, the host found that she had fallen asleep. Her breath coming out in soft puffs against his neck and she looked comfortable where she was.

Moving gently, Alex laid her on her bed and tucked her in. She made a soft noise of protest before settling in.

"Did you mean what you said?" said Maggie from the door, having come back in time to see the younger man comforting her sister.

"We don't believe in lying to others." said Alex, not taking his eyes off Beth. "She has a big heart, it shows given who she is. And we know that she is strong enough to get through what this world can throw at her. She just needs to realize that inner strength."

The older Greene entered the room and took her seat beside Beth's bed, smiling when she could see the blonde actually resting now instead of being borderline comatose. "She always looked for the best in everything. Dad always said that she got mama's compassion for all things, always caring about others." she turned to Alex, "You know, she's quite taken with you. I hadn't seen her as happy as she had been even when she was with Jimmy."

Alex scratched his neck, doing his best to hide the slight coloring of his cheeks. "She...certainly is something special."

Maggie caught his blush and smiled teasingly at him before becoming serious, "No matter what happens with the group we took in, you'll still have a place here with our family. I'll make sure of that."

The host nodded, motioning to Beth's sleeping form. "If she needs to talk, I'll be around." the woman nodded back as he left the room. Maggie smiling down at her sister.

"I approve of this one, Bethy. And I know daddy, Mama and Shawn would too"

 **X**

Going down the stairs to the first floor of the house, Alex went to head outside when a voice stopped him.

"How did you do that?"

He turned his head and saw Andrea sitting at the dining room table, looking shaken while trying to not look directly at him.

"Do what?" he asked back, already knowing what she was referring to but not willing to divulge more than what he wanted to.

The blonde woman finally met his gaze, flinching when he glared at her. The animosity strong given what she had tried to do. "How...How did you dodge my shot?"

Alex gave her a dead look, showing no emotion at all. "Trade secret. Not that you're in any position to be asking us anyway." He turned away from her, dismissing the whole conversation and going back to the door. "For the record, that was your one free shot. It won't happen a second time."

The open threat hung in the air like a fog as he stepped outside. The sky was still alight from the setting sun, the cool air starting to settle over the land.

But from what he could see, Hershel, Rick and Glenn had yet to return.

"Alex," Carol said coming up to him looking worried. "We need your help."

"What's wrong?" the host asked, now fully alert.

"Lori left to go find Rick and the others by herself, we tried to talk her out of it, to wait for them to come back but she went anyway." Carol informed him.

"How long ago?" Alex asked, already figuring where this was going.

"Fifteen minutes, I think." he was heading toward his explorer the moment she finished speaking, climbing into the driver's seat and starting the engine. The others who were out and about looked up when they heard the SUV start up.

"We'll find her." was all he said before turning the explorer around and heading down the drive and onto the main road.

The nearest town where he knew the three men could be at was almost 25 minutes from the farm, if Lori had a could 15 on him then he needed to catch up fast. The woman was putting herself and her unborn child in danger going off on her own, the fact that it was going to be dark soon made the situation even more dire.

Pressing the gas pedal closer to the floor, Alex pushed the explorer to go faster. The road and country side blurring past as he hoped to catch up to the Grimes matriarch.

After a few minutes of driving, he came across a group of walkers that were converging on a single point on the side of the road. Through the mass of rotting bodies, he could see a car laying on its roof in a small ditch.

The car was Maggie's.

"Shit." Alex cursed as he turned the wheel heading straight for the herd as he floored the accelerator. Some of the walkers looked up just as the SUV plowed through them, their bodies either flying over the hood or being crushed beneath the bumper and wheels.

Slamming on the breaks, the explorer's front now dented and covered in blood as he quickly got out and approached the wreck. The undead that weren't taken out from his vehicle were now shambling toward him, in response to their hungry growls Alex snarled back before swinging his right arm at them. A long black tendril extending from his arm and knocking a handful of them away before they could get close, giving him an opening to the overturned car.

Closing the distance in several long strides, the host knelt down and looked through the broken driver's side window and saw Lori sill buckled into the seat upside-down with a cut on her forehead.

"Lori?! ?! Can you hear us?!" he called to her, but not getting a response.

 _ **"She's still alive, as is her spawnling! But the corpses are closing in!"**_ his other warned as the walkers started converging again.

Alex stood slowly, leering at the undead as he shifted into his full Venom form. A blood curdling roar bellowing from his maw before he lunged at the herd. Claws tearing through rotten flesh like tissue paper as he cleaved through the walkers like a steroid filled weed-whacker.

One of the undead with a missing arm attempted to crawl through the car's shattered window only for a bladed tendril speared through its back and yanked it away from the unconscious woman inside.

The black tendril snapped back as Venom threw the walker into a couple others, sending them flying to the other side of the road out of sight. His fist launching forward and slammed into the head of another walker, reducing its skull to a splattered mess.

The undead that had been crushed under his SUV, those that could still move, crawled toward him only to be met with large feet crushing their heads when they got close enough.

Within the span of a minute, all of the attacking walkers were dealt with. A gore splattered mess spreading out several feet in all directions but none of them moving.

 **"Damn rotters."** Venom hissed before turning his attention back to the car, claws sinking into the metal as he ripped the door from it and tossed it away.

Changing back to his normal form, Alex broke the seatbelt and carefully pulled Lori from the car and carried her to his explorer where he got her situated in the passenger seat. The woman groaned, slowly opening her eyes and looking around. "W-Where..."

"Mrs. Grimes?" asked Alex having the woman look his way slowly, "You're going to be alright. We'll get you back to the farm."

"R-Rick...I need to find...Rick." she tried to get up only for the host to gently push her back into the seat.

"We will help you look for him, but right now your concern should be for you and your baby." she slumped back, obviously too sore to argue as the host went around to the driver's side and climbed back in. As the SUV pulled away from the accident site, just before Lori slipped back into unconsciousness a thought crossed her mind.

 _"I didn't tell anyone about the baby..."_

 **X**

Back at the Greene farm, Rick, Glenn and Hershel had come back after a tense confrontation at the local bar. Having gotten through to Hershel about what had happened with the walkers in his barn, and getting them all to stay on the land, they had been accosted by some men from another group who ended up backing threats about the farm itself.

The confrontation ended in a firefight which left three of the men dead with the last one, a young man named Randal, wounded.

When they got back, the former sheriff had been told that Lori had gone off to look for him and hadn't come back yet. Now worried for his wife, Rick was preparing to head back out to find her when Alex's explorer pulled up.

The group becoming concerned when they saw the broken headlight, dents along the hood and fender, and blood splattered all over the front.

"Alex?" Rick asked as the man got out and went to the passenger side of the car where to brought out Lori, the group surrounding them quickly. "What happened?!" the man demanded when he saw the state of his wife.

"She got in an accident. We got there just as rotters were surrounding the car." replied Alex.

"It doesn't look back, but let's get her inside so I can look her over." said Hershel as they started making their way to the house.

"I'll take her." Shane stated, trying to force his way infront of them.

Alex shoved past him, not giving the man the time of day. When the former deputy went to grab the younger man but was shoved to the side by Rick who sent him a burning glare before following after his wife.

Shane sneered after them before punching the side of the RV and storming off.

After getting Lori set up in the same bed Carl had been in after he got shot, Hershel made quick work of checking her over and found that other than a few scrapes and bruises she was alright and needed to rest.

Rick thanked Alex repeatedly for saving his wife, of which the host waved him off saying it was alright while the former sheriff and his son stayed by Lori's side while she slept.

"If ya'll are alright, I think I need to go check on our newest guest." said Hershel as he took his equipment and left the room.

"Newest Guest?" Alex asked.

"We had a bit of a run in with a few people in town. One of them surrendered and we brought them back here to question about the rest of their group." clarified Rick

Curious, the host left the small family alone and followed the same path Hershel had taken. Finding the man back outside just as Daryl and T-Dog were pulling the young man from the backseat of the car the others had returned in.

When they brought him over, both he and Alex locked eyes. All of the blood draining from Randal's face and his eyes widened. "Oh no..." he whimpered while the host grinned almost feraly in response.

"Well, if it isn't little Randy. What trouble have you gotten into now?"

 **A/N: It would seem things have taken yet another interesting turn, it's only a wonder how things will turn out from here.**

 **Loving the support coming in for this story! Keep reading, reviewing and kicking ass folks!**


	7. Chapter 7

For a long stretch of time no one said anything, instead glancing between Alex and the young man Rick, Glenn and Hershel had brought back with them. One looking at the other with a predatory smirk while the other looked like he was prepared to flee like the devil was after him.

"You two know each other?" asked Glenn, wondering if they had all heard correctly.

Alex crossed his arms, "Oh, we know each other alright. And if Rick was telling us about what happened in town is anything to go by, little Randal here's been up to no good... _again_."

The sharp tone at the end of the host's words had Randal shaking like a leaf, his mouth clamped firmly shut. "You were better off leaving him where you found him."

"We couldn't leave him there with his wound, he surrendered." Hershel admonished.

"You'd be thinking different if you knew who he is running with." Alex continued, taking a couple steps toward Randal, eyes like lasers piercing his own. "You wanna tell them, _Randy_? Or should I?"

Randal swallowed and looked away, not willing to talk.

"Suit yourself." the host turned to the group with a grim expression, "About a month ago, we came across a campsite that belonged to a man and his two teenage daughters. They were survivors, just like us, however they were in a bad way. A group of assholes thought it would be fun to attack them. We heard the screaming as they were about to rape the two girls infront of their father."

Everyone looked horrified, the women of the group more so. "We stepped in just in time," Alex continued, "Save them from a horrible fate, but there was one who had been there we let go, thinking he would pass a warning onto the rest of his group on our behalf about attacking innocent people."

The host turned to Randal and pointed at him, "And there the little bastard is now." All eyes shot to the young man who was now staring at the ground. "And apparently, our lesson to him didn't stick well enough."

"You know anythin' 'bout the group he's with?" asked Daryl, his grip on Randal tightening and making him wince.

"Not much, but they got plenty of firepower." Alex pointed his thumb at his explorer. "Most of the weapons I had on me came from the ones I dealt with that day. And they aren't shy about who they hurt, steal from...or rape."

In a sudden burst of movement, Randal broke away from Daryl and T-Dog and attempted to make a run for it. Only to be slammed to the ground by Shane who then pressed his boot to the younger man's neck.

"Take this piece of shit to the shed and chain 'im up." the former deputy ordered. T-Dog and Daryl got a better hold on him and started hauling him off with Hershel to where he could be held.

"S-STOP! YOU GOTTA LET ME GO!" Randal started shouting to the group, terrified eyes settling on Alex, "Y-YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT HE IS! HE-"

He went silent when when Alex crossed the distance and punched him hard enough to knock him out.

 _ **"This...might come back to haunt us."**_ his other whispered as the host looked to the group who were all now looking at him.

 _"That's putting it mildly."_ he thought back with a sigh.

 **X**

For the next couple of days, Alex kept his distance from the group. After what had happened with Randal when he was brought to the farm they had started asking a lot of questions. Questions that he wasn't ready to start answering just yet.

Lori had woken up the day following her accident and had been grateful to the host for arriving in time to save her, but she was even more curious about the fact that he knew about the baby before anyone else.

Of course Glenn knew about it, but only because she asked him to get the tests...how did Alex know?

Hershel had patched up Randal and made sure that he was comfortable in the shed where he was imprisoned. After what they had been informed about his group and what they had done, someone was keeping an eye on him everyday to ensure he didn't escape while the group decided on what to do with him.

If Alex was perfectly honest, things would be better if Randal was killed off to prevent his group from coming after the farm. He was mentally kicking himself for not dealing with him before.

At the moment, the host was sitting on top of the barn looking out over the farm. Staying vigilant incase any stray undead wandered too close to the land.

It may have been cowardice for him to be avoiding everyone else, but he needed some time before explaining what was going on with him.

 _"When the hell did things get to be so complicated?"_ he thought, running a hand through his hair.

 _ **"It was long before the dead started walking."**_ his other commented back. _**"We cannot keep avoiding the others forever. And the longer we wait, the more horrible the fallout will be."**_

Alex shook his head, the symbiote had a point. It would be better to get everything out of the open now instead of putting it off.

And if they cast him out like the others that discovered what he was, then it was better to know that now. But the real question was how he was going to go about it?

"Alex!" the host looked down to the ground and found Beth looking back up at him. She was pretty much the only person other than Sophia that actively sought him out.

After she had gotten a bit of closure after what happened with her undead mother, she met up with him regularly to get away from everyone else for a while and talk. As much as he wanted to not get her involved in what was going on at the moment, Alex was convinced by his other to not shut her out. Even though the symbiote was cryptic with the why, the host had a pretty good idea.

"What's up?!" he called back, "You know, other than us?!"

Beth laughed at the corny joke, and to Alex it felt like a breath of fresh air to hear that sound again. He could tell she was still hurting about the loss her family suffered, but she was healing, and that was all that mattered.

"I need a hand with something, do you have a minute?" the blonde asked.

"We'll be right down!" Alex stood and went toward the back of the barn where the ladder was located. Only instead of taking it down he casually dropped from the roof and landed on the ground with a soft thud before making his way around to the front where the southern-belle was waiting patiently. "What can we do for you?"

"The door to the horse stables is jammed and I can't get it open, would you mind giving me a hand?" asked Beth.

With a nod from the host, the two of them headed in the direction of the stables. "How have you been feeling?" asked Alex.

"Getting better." said the blonde with a sigh, "Our talks have really helped."

"Good, glad we could be of service." was the reply as they continued on their path.

Beth kept glancing at him out of the corner of her eye before speaking what was on her mind, "The others are talking about you a lot."

Alex tilted his head at her curiously, "Really?"

"Shane keeps trying to pressure the others to kick you out. Saying that you can't be trusted and if you scared Randal like that then everyone should be concerned." she said with a scowl on her face, having not liked the man even before the barn incident. "Though Rick says that they shouldn't because you've done nothing but help everyone here. Especially since you saved his wife."

"Shane's had it out for us since day one, he's one to talk about trust." said Alex. "And he can push as much as he wants to kick us out of here, it's still your father's farm. If he tells us to go, then we'll honor his wishes."

Beth bit her lip, the idea of Alex being forced to leave didn't sit well with her. Maggie constantly teased her that she had a crush on him, though the blonde would bite back about her sister's budding relationship with Glenn.

"Daddy wouldn't do that." she said, coming to a stop and looking at the host fully, "You have every right to be here as much as the others. You're not a bad person."

Alex turned his eyes from hers, looking at the farm house where he could see everyone out and about.

 _"If she knew the truth, she might not be saying that."_ he thought.

 _ **"Then perhaps you should tell her and see for yourself."**_ his other suggested. _**"We've been thinking about telling the others anyway. Why not start with the female?"**_

"Alex?" the host blinked and looked back at Beth who looked back with concern, "Is something wrong?"

Taking a deep breath, Alex braced himself; "There is something that we want to tell you, but we're not sure how you will react to it."

The blonde grew worried with how he was speaking. "What is it?" she asked, wanting to help him if she could.

"Not here." the host looked to be sure no one was looking their way before motion for her to follow him. The two of them going in the opposite direction of where they had originally been heading, going off the property and into the forest a ways until they stopped in a small clearing.

Alex took a deep, calming breath before turning to Beth who looked as curious as she was worried. "Okay, before we start, we want you to keep an open mind. That what we say may sound crazy, but it is only the truth and we hope that you won't hate or be afraid of us."

"Alex, your starting to scare me. What's going on?" Beth asked, wanting to know now more than ever. There was no going back now.

"We...We're _different_ from everyone else." he said as calmly as he could, "Unique, from an incident that changed us long ago." looking down at his hands a moment, the host prepared himself. "Have you heard the phrase; 'never judge a book by it's cover'? Well, we hope that you keep that strongly in mind."

Before Beth could inquire what he meant, her words died quickly in her throat when she watched Alex's clothes suddenly come alive and turn into a strange black slime that covered his body which had grown over a foot taller with large muscles packed onto it.

The substance reaching his head and slithering over it where it transformed into a monstrous visage. A mouth filled with dagger-like fangs and a pair of white, flame-shaped pseudo eyes that made the look even more sinister.

The tension in the clearing was thick, neither Beth or Alex's new form made any sudden moves. The blonde now pale, looking ready to either scream, run or both as she kept her blue eyes firmly locked onto the creature that was hunched a few feet away.

She took a step back when it spoke.

 **"Beth...please. Don't run from us."** Venom's demonic voice rasped softly, making her freeze. **"We know you're afraid. We can't blame you at all. But we would never hurt you."**

"A...Alex?" Beth asked in a slight whimper.

The creature nodded slowly, **"Yes. We share a body with something from beyond the stars. Together we make this form."** Venom's mouth opened and slid back to reveal Alex's anxious face. "But we're still in control."

Swallowing thickly, Beth did what she could to try and relax. "How...How are you..."

Alex smiled softly, "It's a long story, but we're willing to tell you. If you're willing to listen."

At first, her instincts told her to flee. But seeing Alex's hopeful gaze, and the sincerity in his tone, she felt compelled to at least hear what he wanted to tell her. Watching her friend sit down, she did the same while keeping the same distance from one another.

"Our life was rough, long before the dead started walking." he started explaining. "It was just us and our mother, we never knew our father. She worked hard to support us...but she was broken. Falling into addiction, heroine to be exact. Soon it consumed her life to the point where she sold her body on the street to maintain our home and her vice."

"One day, when we came home from school to see her pimp beating her. We tried to help, but he knocked us out. When we came to he was gone...and our mother was dead. We were only 14 at the time."

Beth covered her mouth, tears in her eyes wondering what he had been going through when he was that young.

"Naturally, the state stepped in and sent us into foster care." Alex pressed on, "The homes they sent us too treated us badly. One treating us like a live in slave. Another the parents would beat us. Eventually we had had enough and fled to the streets where we lived on our own. It was harsh, but we survived for years. And then one day, everything changed."

 _ **X Flashback X**_

 _17 year old Alex Cross curled in on himself in one of the many trail tunnels spread throughout Central Park. Autumn had settled in and with it the cold nights that promised a harsh winter for anyone unlucky enough to have a home to go to._

 _It wouldn't be the first time he had to endure such cold, if he was lucky he could locate a half-way house or a shelter that would take him in for the season. But for now his old tattered coat, ripped jeans and a pair of barely held together boots were all he had on him for the moment._

 _Shivering again when another breeze blew through the tunnel, the homeless teenager decided to try and find a warmer spot elsewhere in the park._

 _Getting up on shaking legs, Alex left the tunnel and started walking along the path. Keeping his eyes and ears open for any police that might have been patrolling the park that had the intent to bring him in. Even though a night in jail would keep him warm, he had no way to get out._

 _For several minutes he wandered, trying to think of a way to endure another harsh winter that was coming when something caught his attention. Looking up, he was greeted with the sight of several shooting stars streaking across the sky._

 _Alex smiled, it was quite the view, and no doubt one worth remembering as he forgot about the cold and enjoyed the moment while it lasted._

 _That's when he saw one of the stars suddenly change course, coming in lower compared to the others as it banked and came hurdling down towards Earth. Passing right over Alex's head and slamming into the ground over a dozen meters away from where he stood in shock._

 _Staggering in surprise, the teen quickly made his way to the crash site. The idea of a meteorite landing so close had to be one of the rarest things ever, anyone would want to get a better look._

 _When he reached the crater the meteorite had landed in, he saw smoke billowing from both the ground and the space rock itself. Despite it being only the size of a softball at best, it was giving off enough heat to chase away the biting cold all around it. Something Alex was grateful for._

 _Moving in to get a better look, the teen crouched beside the crater and looked down at the meteorite in wonder. Wishing he had a camera or a phone to capture this moment._

 _As it laid there hissing softly, a piece of the rock cracked and splintered off. Another soon joining it as one side of the object broke open, like it was hollow inside._

 _Curiosity overriding his judgement, Alex moved over to the side that had opened and leaned in close, his eyes trying to focus on the inside where he swore something was moving around..._

 _A yelp of surprise barely made it past his lips as a black slime suddenly lept from the rock and latched onto him, knocking him onto his back as it quickly spread out and covered his whole body._

 _His world going dark as it covered his face._

 _ **X**_

"At first we were terrified. But when we came to the next morning...the creature that had latched itself onto us spoke from within our mind." Alex explained. "It said that it was part of a species known as Klyntar, alien lifeforms that are parasitic in nature that find hosts and bond to them on a symbiotic level. In exchange for giving them safety, as they cannot survive without a host, their vessel is granted abilities that would protect the both of them."

He looked at Beth who was silent, looking at him with wide eyes from either shock or awe he didn't know. "We simply call it our 'other'. It was exiled from its people for not sharing in the same beliefs as the rest. It's kind casting it out into space for many years before it crashed here on this planet...where it met us and bonded to us."

The host held up a clawed hand, "That is the true reason we speak as we do. We are one with our other. They see, feel and experience all that we do and vice-versa. And because of them, we are stronger, faster, more durable, and have a laundry list of other abilities that have helped us survive for the last few years. But one thing has always remained the same. We NEVER harm the innocent."

"We have killed in the past, but only to save those that were in danger. And even though we try to make ourselves a hero for those in need, we are always pinned as a monster. Even when the world became flooded with the undead, we are still looked upon the same way. It is why we hide the truth, and why we are always alone."

Alex looked into Beth's eyes, "Even though the rest of the world sees us as a monster, that will never stop us from doing the right thing. Even if the right things are horrible. Which is why we're telling you the truth, here and now, Beth. You deserve to know. And if you wish for us to leave, then we will not blame you in the least."

Beth didn't do or say anything for a while, more than likely thinking about everything that had just been revealed to her. When she seemed to come to a decision, her eyes hardened and she stood up.

The host turned his head, not wanting to see the hateful judgement, the fear and scorn that was sure to come. All while hating himself for allowing even a sliver of hope for a different outcome...until he heard the footsteps coming toward him instead of going away.

"Why would I want you to leave?" Beth asked as she knelt down infront of him, surprising both Alex and his other. "I won't lie. You frightened me when you... _changed_ , but you've done nothing to mark yourself as the monster you keep speaking about."

Alex went to speak, but the blonde shook her head and continued, "A 'monster' wouldn't be so honest. A 'monster' wouldn't risk himself for the sake of others simply because it was right." she smiled, "And a 'monster', wouldn't go out of his way to make a girl feel better after a tragedy."

Beth reached out and placed her small hand in the center of the white spider-symbol on Alex's chest. "The only thing I care about, is what's in here. You're a good man, Alex. How you look on the outside doesn't change the heart on the inside."

For the first time in a long time, Alex had tears in his eyes.

 _ **"...her heart is too good for this world..."**_ his other said lowly, its own voice filled with emotion about being accepted as well by someone.

"Thank you." the host said softly, "No one has ever accepted us."

Beth smiled back at him, biting her lip in thought before surprising Alex again as she leaned upward and pressed her lips to his cheek. Both of their faces turning pink in the process.

"Will you tell the others?" she asked, not at all ashamed of what she had done.

"Yes, but we need the right moment. We just figured that you deserved to know first, well, second since we told Sophia after we found her in the woods." said the host. "We should be getting you back to the farm, before someone thinks we kidnapped you." An idea came to mind and he grinned, "Would you like to travel our way?"

The blonde tilted her head and nodded, wondering what he meant before she found herself on the host's back and airborne. Crying out in surprise as Alex started swinging through the trees from black webbing shooting from his hands, arms wrapped tight around the host's neck.

The shock wore off and was replaced with exhilaration as she was carried through the air. The wind whipping past them with each upward swing as they crested the top of the treeline before dropping back down toward the Earth again. The trip that had taken them minutes the first time was cut down to a fraction as they stopped close to the farm and dropped to the ground again. Alex's suit changing back to regular clothes as he helped Beth down from his back.

"Have fun?" he asked, seeing the southern-belle smiling widely while at the same time fixing her hair back into place. They continued on their original path to the horse stables where Alex helped deal with the jammed door, all the while they talked quietly about the adventures he had been on both before and after the turning.

When the afternoon rolled around, they were heading toward the house when Rick met them halfway. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything, but I was hoping to talk to Alex for a bit."

Beth nodded, sending Alex one more smile before heading to the house on her own. "What do you need, sheriff?" the host asked.

"Your honest opinion." the man said seriously, "Hershel says that Randal will be well enough to move on his own soon, everyone's agreed to let him go. I'm planning on taking him miles away from the farm and cutting him loose so his group can't find this place."

"Honest opinion?" Alex asked, getting a nod from Rick. "It's a mistake. We allowed Randal to get away once and he's right back in almost the same position again. And there's no guarantee that he won't find his way back to his group and lead them here."

Nodding, Rick gave the younger man a critical look for several seconds. "The night we brought him here, the others told me about what he had been shouting, about you."

 _"Saw this coming."_ Alex thought bitterly, "And?"

"What did he mean, Alex? Is there something you didn't tell us?" the former law-man asked.

"It's no secret that we've killed, Rick." the host said seriously, "But it was either in self-defense or in the defense of others. Randal's group was a threat to others, so we dealt with them accordingly."

Rick raised an eyebrow, "Killing ain't always the right path to take. The way he was shouting, he made it sound like you were something dangerous."

Alex shook his head, "That's one of the things you have yet to understand about how much things have changed, Rick. We're all dangerous depending on the situation. Us? We've seen and done enough for those who want only to hurt others to be cautious."

The younger man locked his eyes on the former sheriff's, "This situation you're in, you really need to consider the outcomes and if you can live with them in the end. Take one life, and deal with having to do so. Or let him live, then have to deal with whether or not he comes here armed with others with not-so-good intentions. We can't make the decision for you, but in our opinion, allowing Randal free won't do you all any good. Especially with how we found him before."

Rick thought over Alex's words before nodding again, "Thank you, for being honest. No matter what anyone says, you word matters as well."

As he turned to leave, Alex recalled what he had said about him having kept anything from the group and decided to speak up. "Rick." the man stopped and looked back at him, "We won't lie to you. We do have our secrets. But we swear on our very life that they will not harm you or the others."

The former sheriff turned to him fully, now very curious. "We won't tell you now. But sometime soon, when we have the chance, we'll tell you everything you want to know about us...we just need a little time." the host said honestly.

"I understand. And thank you, for everything you've done for us." Rick began heading to the house again, leaving Alex alone in the field.

 _ **"Allowing that prisoner to escape is a huge mistake."**_ his other said bluntly, _**"The lives of everyone here hang on the choice they're making, and they don't realize how much danger they put themselves in."**_

 _"I doubt we can change their minds."_ Alex thought back with a sigh, _"They just don't understand, not yet anyway, of how other survivors will do whatever they can to get what they want."_

 _ **"So...what do we plan to do about it?"**_ the symbiote implored, already seeing the plans formulating in its host's thoughts.

Alex turned and looked toward the shed where Randal was being held, eyes narrowing sharply.

 **X**

It was late, though how late it was hard for Randal to tell as he sat in the corner of the small shed handcuffed to the wall.

The people here had patched him up, fed him and made sure he was warm at night. He was thankful for that. And they even talked about letting him go which was even better.

He needed to get back to the others, needed to tell them about this place. He just needed to hold out for a bit longer.

The door to the shed opened, the glow of the moon outside shining behind a tall figure that stood there.

"Hello, _Randy_." a familiar voice spoke which had all the blood draining from the young man's face. He opened his mouth to scream, but a black substance splattered over his mouth making it impossible.

Alex stepped into the shed, closing the door behind him before his form shifted into that of Venom as he leered down at the captive.

 **"Now, we believe it's time for us to have another...** _ **chat.**_ **"** he hissed through his fangs, long tongue slithering out and licking them which had Randal quaking in terror.

 **A/N: Shit's about to get very real, very quickly. And everyone who has been tuning in is about to see some serious Venom-based bloodshed very soon, I can guarantee it!**

 **Read, review and kick ass my readers, and I'll see you all next time!**


	8. Chapter 8

Alex would be lying to himself if he said he didn't enjoy the sheer terror he was invoking from Randal. Out of all the emotions a person can feel, fear was one that could be used the easiest as both a tool and a weapon against your enemies.

And after their last encounter, the host knew that Randal understood perfectly the situation he was in. The smell of ammonia in the air proving that quite well.

 **"You look nervous, Randy."** Venom rumbled, **"Don't worry, this little conversation will be brief, and you don't even need to speak for most of it."**

The hulking being reached into a 'pocket' and produced a map that he spread out on the floor between them. **"You obviously know full well the group here plans to let you go.** _ **We**_ **know full well that you'll run back to your own and lead them here."** white pseudo eyes locked onto the captive's shocked ones, **"You honestly think we wouldn't see right through you? After the last time we met?"**

Venom grinned widely, his fang-filled maw stretching beyond what could be considered natural, **"And we believe you remember quite well what happened last time."** Randal whimpered, tears in his eyes as he recalled that day and how the creature before him tore his friends to shreds when they tried to violate those girls.

 **"So, here's what's going to happen."** Venom tapped a clawed finger on the map which showed the surrounding area and towns nearby, **"You're going to point out where your group is held up. We may not be able to change the minds of the people here from letting you go...but we** _ **are**_ **going to be sure nothing happens to this farm from that decision."**

Randal's eyes widened, shaking wildly but managing to shake his head 'no'.

Venom tilted his head, **"No? You won't betray your friends? That's admirable, even for you. But we both know how this will play out in the end. So, we ask again, point out where your group is."** Again, his answer was a headshake, Randal turning to the side only for a clawed hand to grab his head, forcing him to look at Venom's snarling visage.

 **"Let's put this another way,"** the beast growled dangerously, **"Either you tell us what we want to know, or we will remove** _ **pieces**_ **from you until you do. And believe us, they will be pieces you. Will.** _ **Miss**_ **."**

Another wave of ammonia filled the shed, Randal looked very close to having a heart attack but remained silent. **"Suit yourself."** Venom grabbed his free hand in a vice-grip and pulled it up toward his mouth that he opened wide, intending on biting the limb in half-

Randal screamed through the webbing gag, shaking his head frantically while attempting to shout 'I'll tell you!' again and again.

 **"Good boy."** Venom hissed, waving his hand at the map again. The captive reached out and tapped an area close to a small town a decent distance from the farm.

Nodding, the creature grabbed the webbing covering Randal's mouth and absorbed it into his hand, **"What's out there?"** he questioned.

"...O-Old warehouse...used to store hardware su-supplies." Randal stuttered.

 **"How many?"** Venom questioned again.

"15." a clawed finger pressed under his chin, drawing a line of blood, "30! I meant 30!"

 **"Weaponry?"**

"M-Military grade...we...raided a couple of army camps that had been overrun." Venom nodded, slipping the map back in its original place before the suit receded to show Alex standing in the creature's place.

"Thank you for the cooperation. If we find out you lied to us, we'll be back to finish what we should have." the host turned and headed to the door of the shed. "Oh, and before we forget." he sent a warning look at Randal, "You run your mouth about what happened here tonight..." he held up a black clawed hand in a silent threat before closing and locking the door again.

Leaving a whimpering, piss stained captive in the dark.

 **X**

The interrogation ended up paying off in the end, the warehouse Randal pointed out on the map was exactly where he said it would be.

After taking a few minutes to scope the place out, Alex dropped down from one of the many trees surrounding the building and stayed in the shadows. The place was a quarter-mile outside of a town that was 10 miles from the Greene farm, the warehouse itself was large, two stories surrounded by a chain-link fence with more than enough space to hold the group inside and whatever supplies they had gathered several times over.

From what he could see, there were five men stationed outside. Two within the fenced in area one guarding the loading area for delivery trucks while the other was on the front entrance, and three on the roof with rifles watching at a distance. The rest were more than likely inside sleeping.

They had absolutely no idea what hell was about to be unleashed upon them.

"Time to go to work." he said lowly just as he shifted into Venom then faded from view and disappearing into the shadows.

 **X**

James hated guard duty. The nights were getting colder around here and he had better things to do than stand outside freezing his ass off.

Taking a drag off the cigarette in his hand, he jolted upright, dropping it when he heard the nearby trees outside the fence rustle. Rifle against his shoulder and looking down the scope in the direction he heard the noise, holding his breath and waiting for something to appear.

A few tense seconds passed, but when nothing happened he lowered his weapon and shook his head. "Fuckin' raccoons probably." he muttered while reaching down for his cancer stick. Standing upright and putting it back to his lips to take another drag-

The side of his head exploded, a set of black claws suddenly appearing and shearing through the man's skull. He remained standing for a second before collapsing to the ground with blood spraying from what was left of his head.

Venom appeared out of thin air, hissing at the corpse before firing black webbing at the door and sealing it shut completely.

When he was finished with his task, the creature skulked around the other side of the warehouse, going past another body with the guard's head completely crushed into the concrete. Doing the same to all the other doors to be sure that no one could escape before climbing the wall up to the roof.

One of the men stationed up there was patrolling around while the other two were sitting around a metal barrel with fire coming out of it for warmth. None of them aware of the deaths of their friends.

Making sure the moving guard was far enough away from the others, Venom vaulted over the side of the roof. His feet barely making a whisper as he faded into the air again and crept up behind him, a bladed tendril shooting from his arm and going through the back of his head out his forehead.

Tossing the corpse over the side of the roof, Venom leered at the two men by the fire and grinned before firing two more tendrils that wrapped around their necks and broke them at the same time. Taking the time to hide the bodies, he approached the door that would lead down into the warehouse when his enhanced senses picked up movement on the otherside.

Reacting fast, he jumped up and landed in a crouch ontop of the entrance moments before the door opened and another man came staggering out with a half-empty whiskey bottle in his hand.

"H-Hey! You guy's wanna..." the man slurred before he noticed the others were not there. "Wh-Where the fu-fuck are ya?"

Too drunk to be aware, Venom wasted no time dropping down behind him. When he turned around, he was met with a pair of sharp claws piercing through his eye sockets and into his brain. Dropping him to the ground, the beast turned to the open doorway and skulked inside.

Like a feral cat into a sealed box filled with mice.

 **X**

Back at the Greene farm, Rick laid awake in the bed beside his wife. Within the next 12 hours he and Shane would be taking Randal as far from this place as they could before letting him go. But he just couldn't get any sleep.

Alex's words from earlier that day kept playing over and over in his head. Nagging at him again and again as he started to question whether or not they were making the right choice.

He knew full well how much the world had changed while he was in that coma. Thing's weren't the same. The same sense of moralities had greatly shifted when the dead started walking again and the living started turning on one another.

There was no law left to enforce, but that old part of his life was still strongly with him. The sense of right and wrong and keeping the peace, what he had been before.

Everyone else in the group had had the time to understand and adapt to the way things have become, but Rick felt as through he was still behind trying to catch up. And with how things were becoming as of late he needed to get used to it quickly.

Sighing for the tenth time in the last hour, the former sheriff decided to get up and try and clear his head. Being careful to get out of the bed without waking Lori, wanting her to get as much rest as she could given her condition.

When she got better after her accident, she had told him that she was pregnant. She had also told him about what had happened between her and Shane when she believed he was dead.

It shook him up a bit, especially the prospect of the baby not being his, but in the end he just kissed Lori and told her it wasn't her fault. That he expected her to try and find someone to make her happy and take care of Carl when he was gone.

And, more importantly, he told her that it didn't matter. That the baby was their's regardless. Lori had cried and hugged him, thankful that Rick didn't hate her for what had happened and was happy about the baby.

Pulling on a pair of jeans, Rick left the room and headed downstairs. Smiling when he found Carl asleep on the couch with Sophia, the little blonde's head on his shoulder while they were under a blanket thrown over the both of them.

It made the former sheriff happy to see his son smiling again. The two kids were as thick as thieves, to see them both happy was good moral for everyone. Making them believe that they just might make it in the end.

Stepping out onto the porch, Rick took in a breath of fresh air and let his mind wander again.

Thoughts of bringing Alex officially into their group were still being debated. Shane was still adamant about kicking the younger man off the property, but after the incident with the barn-walkers not a lot of people in the group trusted his judgement as much as they used to.

And even though a couple of people were a bit weary of Alex for one reason or another, almost everyone was onboard with the idea of keeping him with them. He was certainly a good asset to their group, and they could use all the help they could get should the need arise

Rick listened to the crickets chirping for a long while, the sound relaxing as he stared out across the front yard of the house. The chill in the air making him realize that they would need to make other arrangements when winter starts to settle in.

Resting his hands on the porch rail infront of him, the former sheriff remained alone with his thoughts as the next day was fast approaching

 **X**

Screaming and shouting echoed along the walls of the warehouse, along with the sounds of gunfire as the men inside fought for their very survival.

One of the men ran at their attacker wielding a machete only to be taken off his feet and thrown into a wall with such force it warped the dense metal and leaving a bloody smear in his wake.

Two others were doing all in their power to try and wrench one of the doors on the ground floor open with a crowbar, but the entrance wouldn't give an inch.

"Come on man! Open the fucking door!" one of them shouted in hysterics.

"I'm fuckin' trying!" the other exclaimed, his face sleek with sweat as he tried once again to get the door open only for it not to budge. "Maybe we-" he was cut off when his head was crushed against the door, the cause being a large, black tendril that slammed him from behind.

The first man shrieked in terror, trying to run in a different direction before the same tendril came back around and speared him through the back and out the chest. Blood oozing from his torso and mouth before he was thrown aside without care.

Any survivors of the attack got into the large office area of the warehouse. Slamming the door closed and barricading it with what they could find as they tried to reload with shaking hands.

"W-WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING!" one of them shouted, dropping the clip for his AK-47 and hastily picking it back up and jamming it into the weapon.

"I don't know man! It came out of fuckin' nowhere!" another threw in, running a hand over his head repeatedly while trying to make sense of the whole situation. Out of the 30 that had been living in the warehouse...there were only 9 left. All of them currently holed up here and cowering from the thing that had slaughtered their friends.

None of them even wanted to think of what happened to the ones that were sleeping in the rooms upstairs...

"Okay...Okay look, we still got it outnumbered. I say we take it." said one of the men closest to the door, the leader of their group who wore fatigues and a flak vest.

"Are you out of your fuckin' mind Marcus?!" one of his subordinates cried, this one trying to stop another from bleeding out from the mangled stump of where his right arm used to be. "We gotta get the hell outta here!"

"And leave all that shit we got?! No fucking way!" Marcus snapped back.

"EVERYONE'S DEAD!" another shouted, "WE'RE FUCKING NEXT! FUCK THE STUFF!"

The one closest to Marcus and the door, a black man with a shaved head, held up his hand. "Shh! Listen." he said, everyone went quiet, straining their hearing to try and pick up anything on the other side.

But there was nothing. Just complete silence.

"You...You think it left?" one of the men asked quietly.

"No, no way man." another who was sitting in the corner in a fetal position rocking back and forth whimpered, "It-It's probably right outside, lookin' for a way in...we're fucked...we're so fucked."

"Joey! Shut the fuck up!" Marcus hissed, turning his attention back to the door. "That thing's just gonna pick us off, we gotta fight it."

The dark-skinned man beside him nodded, "Marcus' right, and we gotta do something because we're just sitting d-" The wall beside him suddenly burst inward, a black clawed hand grabbing him by the face and yanked him into the opening until he was halfway outside.

"FUCK! GRAB HIM!" Marcus ordered, he and several others grabbing their friend's flailing legs and tried to pull him back in. A series of loud crunches and tears could be heard before they stumbled back...their comrade's lower-half coming with them and showing the upper-half gone with broken bones and torn flesh dangling from it with blood spraying everywhere.

The men immediately opened fire on the opening, bullets going through the wall as they tried to hit what was on the other side. In seconds, their clips ran empty and metallic clicking could be heard instead.

Everything was silent again.

"...Did...did we get it?" one of the men asked, swallowing thickly.

Marcus swept his eyes along the many holes they punched through the walls. "I think we did..." he said almost too hesitantly.

Right was the words left his mouth, the barricaded door exploded. Throwing two of the men back and sending debris flying. When the dust settled, the raiders looked to the door and felt their hearts freeze.

Standing in the door was a massive creature with black skin, long claws with white eyes and a maw filled with razor sharp teeth.

 **"Hello boys."** the creature said with a demonic echo. **"Hope you don't mind, but we stopped in for a...** _ **BITE**_ **."** a long tongue slithered out and liked the dagger-like teeth slowly, bits of drool dripping from them.

"MOTHERFUCKER!" Marcus roared as he drew a pistol and started shooting. The rounds hitting the creature in it's oily skin but having no affect on it.

Grinning widely, the beast snapped its hand out and a glob of black webbing struck the leader and pinned him to the wall. **"You wait your turn."**

The others decided to run, but there was nowhere to go Venom wouldn't get them. One of his claws snapped out and caught one of the raiders as he tried to run past him. His pleading fell on deaf ears as he raised the man up and brought him down over his knee hard enough on his back to bend him in half.

Two decided to make a last stand and reloaded their weapons, but before they could fire a shot Venom grabbed them both by the head and slammed them together. The force being enough to shatter their skulls like eggs and sending grey matter splattering the walls.

With their numbers dropping fast, one raider decided to make his cowardice known and threw one of his friends at the monster before running for the exit...only to find the door sealed from the outside.

He froze when he felt hot breath on the back of his neck. Turning his head slowly and looking over his shoulder, his terror froze him in place when he saw the white pseudo eyes and deadly jaws greeting him.

 **"You want out? Here, let us HELP you."**

Grabbing the raider by the neck, Venom threw him with all his strength through the door. Shattering it completely and sending the man skidding across the ground where it shredded his front like a cheese grater.

Swinging his head back around, the beast grinned at the last man standing besides the leader. The whimpering mess of what had once been a man on his knees and begging for his life to be spared.

 **"Let us ask you; how many innocent people begged for their lives while you laughed."** Venom hissed grimly, **"How many lives did you destroy for your own greed and sick amusement?"**

The man looked up at him, tears and snot running down his face. "...P-Please...M-M-Mercy..." he whimpered feebly.

Venom shook his head, **"Sorry, all out of mercy."** A slash of his claws removed the raider's head from his shoulders. It was quick, far more than the scum deserved in his opinion, but it was done.

With the others all taken care of, Venom went back to the leader who had since stopped trying to break free from his bound state. A tendril shooting from the creature's hand and pulling Marcus from the wall and bringing him into a clawed grasp.

 **"Hmm...Eyes, lungs, pancreas, so many snacks, so little time."**

"Wh-What the fuck do you want, man?!" Marcus shouted.

Venom snarled, **"What we** _ **want**_ **is pathetic scum like you, those who prey on the weak, to no longer exist."** his long tongue coming out and slithering up and over the man's face, **"But for now. You will serve another purpose."**

Marcus could only look on in utter terror as the beast's mouth opened impossibly wide, all its teeth showing while he was pulled toward it;

"NO! NO NO NO NO NO-GAHHHHHH!"

 _ **CRUNCH!**_

 **X**

In the now completely silent warehouse, Alex stepped out of the ruined office.

"Christ...that shit never gets easier." he said outloud while stepping over bodies and debris scattered all over the place.

 _ **"Sorry."**_ his other said genuinely, _**"But we need our sustenance as well since we haven't found our usual alternatives in a while."**_

"No, we get it. Though we don't regret giving the last of our chocolate to Carl and Sophia." the host replied back.

One of the things Alex quickly learned about his tenant was that, like most sentient beings, it needed its own food source to stay strong. As it turned out, the type of nourishment the symbiote needed could be found in multiple sources on Earth. But only three of them really give it the amount it needs.

Chocolate, a unique kind of fungus...and human brain tissue.

Even though the host did his best to avoid the last one, with lack of the previous two he had no other alternatives. And sadly, the brains of the undead didn't sit well with the symbiote for obvious reasons. Thankfully, his other only needed to feed once in a while.

Though...that didn't alleviate the memory of having to EAT another person, even if they were a scumbag.

Shaking off the recent _meal_ , Alex started going through the warehouse and found a literal gold mine of supplies stashed in crates, boxes and bags scattered throughout the building. Food, medicine, weapons and ammo, enough to have kept the group here going for a couple of months.

The host couldn't help but wonder how many groups these assholes had robbed from to get this much and was glad for the justice he had dished out.

"This will be one hell of a gift for the folks back on the farm." Alex said as he took out an almost new AR-15 rifle and checked it over.

 _ **"An impressive haul. It was certainly more than worth coming out all this way."**_ replied his other. _**"But how will we get all of this back?"**_

Before Alex could say anything, a soft bang was heard on the otherside of the warehouse. Back on high alert, the host headed in the direction of the noise, finding another door set in the back corner of the main floor.

It wasn't an exit, that much he knew for certain, but he had overlooked it while he was tearing through all the raiders.

Checking the handle he found it locked. Both of Alex's arms covered in black with his claws appearing that sank into the door and ripped if from the wall, the light casting down upon a metal staircase that led into a basement.

Taking the steps down, Alex took note of the very little light provided but was still able to see where he was going. When he reached the bottom, soft crying and whimpering greeted his ears. The sight before him filling him with horror, disgust and rage.

Chained to the walls of the small basement were a dozen women, all of them of various ages with their clothes either badly torn or completely naked covered in bruises and cuts where their skin was exposed.

Some of the older women were huddled around younger girls who looked to be in their early teens, trying to protect them from the sick games the bastards upstairs had been doing to them for god only knew how long.

When they saw Alex they shuffled as far from him as possible, the host raised his hands before speaking calmly and gently. "It's okay. We're not with the assholes upstairs...we're here to help."

"You're not with the men upstairs?" asked one of the older woman, one with red hair and looked to be in her early thirties.

"No, ma'am. We dealt with them with extreme prejudice, you're all free the moment we get you all out of those chains." replied the host.

"H-How?" asked another woman, a brunette who had to be around his own age while she pulled on the shackles over her hands.

Alex approached the woman, doing so calmly given the ordeal they had all endured, and grabbed the chain. To the shock of all the females in the basement, he shattered the metal links as though they were cheap plastic before breaking the shackles from the young woman's wrists.

"We eat our vegetables." Alex quipped before doing the same for everyone bound to the walls. Once they were all free, he jogged back upstairs and collected clothes for all of them and brought it back down so that they could get properly dressed.

Giving the captives their privacy, the host went back to the main floor and began going through the supplies of food and medical supplies the raiders had. When the women joined him they were a bit hesitant when they saw the dead bodies of their tormentors all over the place while their savior went about his task without care.

"These assholes had a lot of food and medicine stockpiled, by rights all this should go to you for what they did to you." Alex said to the group while showing them what was available.

"Is there a catch?" one of the women asked a little heatedly, the host couldn't blame her.

"No, ma'am." the host said honestly, "All we ask is that we take some odds and ends back to our own group who is in need. If that is alright?"

The first woman he spoke with nodded, "Yes...Yes that's more than okay. We can't thank you enough."

Alex waved her off, "You don't ever have to thank us. This world is dangerous enough without fuckers like them running around." he said pointing to a nearby corpse.

One of the younger girls approached him, but still keeping her distance. "A-Are you a super hero?"

The host smiled and knelt down to her level, "Sorry, sweetheart. But no, we're not a super hero...we're just a guy who kills monsters. Human or otherwise."

 **X**

 **A/N: A bit of a short chapter, but I figured everyone deserved a little good old fashioned Venom slaughter. Also, has anyone seen the new trailer for the movie? The hype has gone up WAY past 10 on this one. Needless to say, I'll be in line for a ticket or two on opening day.**

 **For those that have already seen it, I made a 'Deleted Scene' I believe everyone will enjoy.**

 **X Omake Scene X**

Randal was a shaking mess, having just witnessed his friends killed right before his eyes by the monstrous creature that had appeared out of nowhere.

None of them stood a chance as it ripped them limb from limb. Now it was looming over him, a clawed hand gripping his shoulder.

 **"Remember this moment,** _ **Randy**_ **."** Venom hissed, **"If we EVER see you again, we will eat both your arms, and then both your legs, and then we will eat your face right off your head. You will become this armless, legless, faceless thing. Rolling down the street...like a turd, in the wind."**

Each word was spoken with grim seriousness while his fangs dripped ominously.

"W-W-What the hell are you?" Randal whimpered in fear.

Half of Venom's face peeled away to reveal half of Alex's, **"W** e, **a** re **VE** N **OM**!" they spoke at the same time as Venom's face reformed again. **"Remember the name."**

 **A/N: Read, review and kickass folks! Update is already in the works.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hello all and welcome back.**

 **Sorry for the slight delay, my internet was knocked out for almost a week. But not I'm up and running once again and with another fresh installment ready for the eager masses. This story is fast approaching 100 reviews and almost 8,000 views, and I must say that it's a good start. I can only hope things will get even better as I progress.**

 **Only time will tell for now, but you didn't come hear to listen to me gab. Let's get this show on the road!**

 **X**

It took a while before Alex was able to leave the warehouse. After making sure that the bodies of the raiders were dealt with and that the building was secured for the captive woman that had been held there, he worked with them going through the supplies that were available.

An agreement was made, the host would take a third of the supplies while the women all kept the rest for themselves. They were intending on heading out on their own once they had enough time to recover from their ordeal, and thankfully the raiders had a couple of trucks parked behind the warehouse ready to be used.

Bringing his own SUV around, Alex loaded it with the agreed upon supplies before helping the group with their own. Getting another round of thanks for saving them before setting off back to the farm just as the sun started rising.

 _ **"Do we even have a plan for how to explain where all these supplies and weapons came from to the others?"**_ his other asked suddenly.

The host smirked, "We'll think of something."

 **X**

The day had arrived, and many of the group were hesitant about it. After getting up and having a quick breakfast, the group from Atlanta had gathered together in preparation for Randal's release.

Daryl and Glenn had gone to the shed to check on their prisoner and found him a mess. Pale, sweating with dark circles under his eyes with the noticeable smell of piss in the air and looking as though he hadn't slept all night.

When they asked him what the problem was, Randal just shivered and held himself in the corner. Leaving the other two men confused.

While this was going on, the others went through their usual tasks in helping around the farm. Beth coming out of the house with a confused expression. "Has anyone seen Alex?" she asked when she arrived at the campsite.

"Sorry, haven't seen him yet today." said Carol while she collected dirty laundry with Lori.

"Didn't see much of him last night either." added T-Dog while he worked with Dale on the RV, "Where does he even sleep, anyway?"

Everyone looked at one another curious just as they heard an engine running and saw Alex's SUV coming up the driveway and stopping in its usual spot. The man himself stepping out and waving at them, "Mornin'! Anyone mind giving us a hand?" he called with a grin.

Curious, the group converged on the explorer as the host opened the passenger doors and the back hatch to reveal the haul of supplies he had brought with him.

"Christ! Where the hell did you get all of this?!" Dale exclaimed when he saw what was brought to them.

"Got restless last night, went on a supply run." was Alex's short answer as he started grabbing boxes and unloading them.

While this was happening, Rick and Shane approached from the house while Glenn and Daryl came from the shed.

"Dude! Where'd all this come from?!" said Glenn in shock as T-Dog took out a large bag filled with military grade guns.

"As we said, we went on a late night supply run and hit a literal gold mine." replied Alex again, passing off a box of medical supplies to the former delivery driver.

Shane crossed his arms and leered at the host, "So, what? You just left in the middle of the night and didn't tell anyone?" he asked sharply.

Alex rose to his full height and glared right back, "Last time we checked, we're not part of your group. So we have the freedom to do whatever _we_ want. And we decided to do what we do best." he went back to unloading the supplies, "If you don't like it, you don't have to use anything that we brought. You can go fuck yourself for all we care."

The former deputy snarled and took a threatening step toward the younger man. "Shane!" Rick barked in warning, having had enough of the man's attitude as of late.

"Oh, no Rick. Oblige him." Alex said serious, "We could use a morning warm up."

Shane growled under his breath before stomping off elsewhere.

"Do you have to antagonize him?" Rick asked the host.

"When he pulls out the stick in his ass and starts acting like a decent human being, we'll consider it." Alex said with a shrug. Daryl snorted while looking through the weapons and ammo that had been brought back.

When everything was sorted and put away safely, Rick pulled Alex aside to have a private conversation. Telling him the plan for releasing Randal while at the same time asking if he would come along.

"Why, you think the little shit will try something?" asked the host.

"No...I'm more worried about Shane." the former sheriff admitted, "Ever since the incident with the barn, I've started to notice how much he's changed."

Alex understood where he was leading with this, "You started to see what he's become. He's unhinged, Rick. Anyone with eyes can see it, and we've seen more than enough of it to see the signs. Our only question is why go out alone with him if you know all of this?"

"He and I need to talk." said Rick. "But I don't completely trust him like I used to."

"You want someone there watching your back." the host said, putting everything together. "Smart move. Though considering how much Walsh has it out for us do you think it's a good idea?"

Rick rubbed the back of his head, "To me, you've earned your meddle. I think I can trust you enough to make sure things don't go sideways when we go out there later."

Alex nodded, more than a little surprised with how much of an impact he had thus far. While at the same time wondering if Rick and the others in the group would think the same when the truth about him and his other finally was revealed.

 **X**

"So he wants you there incase Shane does something foolish?" Beth asked sometime later, the two of them sitting on the roof of the barn.

"We can't blame him for being cautious, especially with what's happened so far with the psychopath." replied Alex as he laid back with his arms behind his head. He saw the look on the blonde's face and grinned at her, "Don't worry, we can handle ourselves just fine."

Beth smiled back at him before turning her attention back to the farm. She'd never seen her home like this before, sure she'd been on the roof of the house more than a few times, but she'd never been this high up.

"Just as long as you're careful." she said with color tinting her cheeks. She heard him shift around before a strong arm wrapped around her waist.

"We have yet to get into a situation we couldn't get out of, everything will be fine." Alex, the southern-belle smiled again which had the host's chest fluttering more than a little. With the way the sun was shining through her hair making it look like gold, the sparkle in her blue eyes, she looked almost like-

"An angel." the host ended up saying outloud, much to the shock of himself and Beth as they looked at one another wide-eyed. "...We said that outloud, didn't we?"

 _ **"Yes, you did."**_ his other replied with a cheshire-like grin in the back of Alex's mind.

 _"Not helping."_ the host shot back while clearing his throat. The color in Beth's cheeks had darkened a bit from his little slip up. "Sorry, it's just...well...you look..." for the first time in seemingly forever, Alex didn't know what to say.

"You...think I look like an angel?" Beth asked slowly, wanting to be sure that she had heard correctly.

Alex sighed, "We don't think, we _know_ you look like an angel." he said honestly, motioning to her face. "The sun hits your hair like a golden halo, your eyes are the same color as the sky, and you have a kind heart that is too good for this world."

Beth was now flushed almost completely pink, her heart fluttering wildly. No one had ever told her something like that before.

"And even though we told you our past, and what we truly are, you still accept us when many have fled in fear." the host continued. "We always thought of ourselves as something to be afraid of, until we came here."

"Maybe it's because you're so used to people being afraid of you." the blonde said gently, reaching up and touching the side of his face. "Like I said before, you're so much more than what you are. And what I see, is a good man who does so much for others without asking for anything in return."

She hesitated for a brief moment before leaning up and placing her lips over Alex's. Initially surprised by the sudden action, the host didn't hesitate to kiss her back. It was chaste at best, lasting only a second or two before they leaned away from each other.

There was a pause before they kissed again, a bit longer this time.

Within its host, the symbiote felt the rush of chemicals and endorphins flooding Alex's system. It's species may have fed a specific way, but they also fed off the emotions and adrenaline within their hosts. And what it was feeling right now...it was intoxicating!

Neither of the humans noticed as two thin black tendrils slithered out of Alex's sides and coil around Beth's waist, squeezing her sides gently and causing her to moan into the host's mouth.

They pulled apart and looked down to see the alien appendages wrapped around the southern-belle's middle. "Does this happen often?" she asked quizzically, but not at all bothered by the strange embrace.

"Not that we can remember." Alex said, while at the same time sending an array of curses at his other through their bond. The tendrils gave Beth one last gentle squeeze before slithering back into the host. "Sorry about that, our other gets a little...over excited whenever we experience a lot of emotions."

Beth giggled before laying her head on Alex's shoulder. "Are you okay with this?" he asked her as she got comfortable.

"I'm willing to try, if you are." the blonde said softly, biting her lip. "I know it's a bit sudden, but I just feel so safe around you. And seeing Maggie with Glenn, it makes me want the same kind of happiness they're making for themselves."

 _ **"This must include all of the rutting her sibling does with her mate."**_ the symbiote commented with a knowing tone.

 _"You're spoiling the moment here."_ Alex fired back at his other who merely laughed before slithering to the back of his mind. "We'd be honored." he replied with a charming smile, causing Beth to blush.

They sat together for a while longer before deciding to head back. Alex scooped up the southern-belle in his arms and carried her to the back of the barn and dropped off the roof. Beth let out a excited 'yip' noise, arms tightening around his neck when they landed on the ground below.

"You know I can walk right?" Beth asked as she found herself being carried across the field, but at the same time enjoying it.

"Oh, we know." Alex replied casually while the girl in his arms smiled warmly.

Neither of them seeing the look of anger and jealousy Jimmy sent their way from where he was working in the field.

 **X**

By the afternoon, everything was ready. Randal was loaded into the back of one of the cars with a bag over his head to keep him from seeing anything that would lead back to the farm. Rick being the driver with Shane riding shotgun.

Alex was in his SUV following the two men as they left the property and started down the road. All the while the host and his other were having a deep conversation.

 _"There is no way that Shane won't try something."_ Alex thought as he kept his eyes locked on the car infront of him. Shane had, obviously, been against the idea of the host tagging along. But Rick once again overruled his misgivings on the subject, telling the former-deputy that the extra set of hands on deck incase they ran into trouble was a good idea.

 _ **"Against us or Rick?"**_ asked the symbiote.

 _"Both if he could pull it off, though I won't rule out that he'd kill Rick and pin it on us somehow."_ the host replied. He could see Rick and Shane exchanging words in the car ahead of him, obviously unable to hear them but from the way they were acting it was getting heated. Alex gripped the steering wheel, getting ready incase anything started going down.

 _ **"It was nice to see you forming a bond with our future mate."**_ his other said, referring to earlier that day.

 _" 'Our' future mate?"_ Alex asked dubiously.

 _ **"We feel and experience everything you do, remember? The rush of emotion and endorphins that flow through us when the two of you are together is intoxicating."**_ explained the symbiote.

"Guess that explains the 'hug' you gave her." he said outloud, pulling off the highway when he saw Rick doing the same ahead of him.

 _ **"She is something to be protected and cherished."**_ his other responded honestly. _**"She is a bright light in the darkness, it's not hard to be drawn to her."**_

Alex was surprised at how poetic his other was speaking, considering they shared a mind as well as a body it shouldn't have been all that surprising that they would also share feelings about particular things as well. In this case, it was Beth.

"So what do we do about this?" the host asked, "Our feelings for Beth."

The symbiote was quiet for a moment or two, _**"We have learned much in our time here on Earth. The only thing we can say on this subject is to simply take things as they come. Our future mate wishes to be with us, despite knowing both of our origins, and we're willing to give it a chance. That should be enough for now."**_

They both lapsed into silence as they continued to follow after the two men. Coming to a stop when they did at a crossroad intersection several miles from where they got off the highway. The host going on full alert when he saw the driver and passenger doors opening.

 **X**

To the outside looking in, it looked a little odd for them to be stopping on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. But Rick needed to do this now while they had the chance.

They were pretty far from the farm, and from what he could see Alex was remaining in his car behind them. Keeping a close eye on the situation.

Nodding to the younger man, the former sheriff stepped out of the car and walked toward the front of it, nodding to Alex as he did so. "Though we were goin' further?" Shane asked as he got out of the car as well, shotgun held in hand as he looked around for any walkers.

"We are." Rick replied, "Eighteen miles out."

"Then why are we stoppin'?" the other man asked pointedly, wondering what was going through his friend's mind.

Rick turned to him, his expression serious, "We need to talk. It's been a long time coming, Shane."

Shane shook his head, "We don't need to. I get it. Bring the kid way out here, he don't know his way back to the farm. Cut him loose, he's on his own."

"That's not what we need to talk about." Rick pressed. "I know what happened between you and Lori, what you guys had before I came back to the camp with the others. I can understand, wanting to look out for them given how everyone thought I was dead. But Lori's also been telling me how dangerous you've become. And with what happened at the school with Otis, then again with the walkers in the barn. Seeing it with my own two eyes, Shane, you can't be that way. Not to us, not to me, not to anyone, not anymore."

Shane looked off to the side, his mouth pressed into a thin line.

"How bout you look at me." Rick snapped, causing his friend to look up and meet his gaze, "You and Lori? I wanted to break your fuckin' jaw when I found out, and I found out pretty damn quick. But I didn't. That wasn't weakness. It too _everything_ not to make you choke on your own teeth. But right now...you best remember that Lori is MY wife. Carl is MY son. And that is MY unborn child Lori is carrying. And I will do whatever it takes to keep them alive and safe."

The two men were practically nose to nose with one another, "Whatever you had with Lori, it's over. And the only way for the two of us to keep on, keeping on? Is to remember everything we just talked about right here, right now. do we have an understanding?"

Shane was still silent as Rick started to make his way back to the car. "I'd take it all back, if I could." he finally spoke, causing the former sheriff to pause. "I never looked at her that way before all of this. And they kept me goin' when shit got tough. Everything I did, I did for a good reason, brother."

A tense silence filled the air, Rick looked over his shoulder at his long time friend before walking back to the car without saying anything.

Watching him walking away, Shane gripped his shotgun tighter. His face set in a hard scowl before slowly following him.

 **X**

After double checking to be sure Randal was secured and not going to attempt to run, the small convoy set off once again to a location where he would be released. Driving for almost another half an hour, they came to a fenced in building with a sign in the front reading 'Mert County Department of Public Works'.

The two cars pulled up to the front gate and the three men stepped out to get a closer look. Alex being sure to keep his distance from Shane while at the same time keeping him in view as they observed the abandoned facility.

"This the place?" the host asked.

Rick nodded, "This will do. We'll leave him here. Scavenge some supplies." A walker stumbled out from behind an empty bus and made its way toward them.

Shane went to draw his gun, but Rick stopped him while taking out his knife and cutting his finger and sticking it through the chainlink fence. The walker sped up its gait, arms outstretched with hungry anticipation.

When it reached the fence, the former sheriff jammed his knife through its forehead and killed it.

"Nicely done, sheriff." said Alex as another undead stumbled up to the gate. The host taking out his own knife and finishing it off when it got within range and leaving the way clear.

Rick took out a pair of bolt cutters and cut the chain holding the gate closed, he and Shane entering the property first with their guns at the ready while Alex followed them with Randal infront of him. His hands bound behind his back and a black bag over his head with headphones over his ears to block out sounds.

It was a decent place to let Randal go. The kid would at least have a fighting chance, which was more than what Alex thought he deserved. But the host had no control of the situation, and with Randal's group 'dealt with', the kid would would be fending for himself for a long time.

In the end, it was more like divine justice. So it would do.

 _"This place looks like a makeshift outpost when the infection started."_ Alex thought, seeing all of the empty food cans and boxes, buses turned into living areas...and piles of charred bodies in various spots.

 _ **"Much like the ones we've seen before."**_ his other replied, _**"Keep focused, we smell death in the air. More of the undead are near."**_

Taking the time to comb the place over, collecting gas from the derelict vehicles and whatever other odds and ends scattered about. The three men brought Randal to the center of the facility. Removing the headphones and bag and showing him his surroundings for the first time.

"What the hell is this?" he asked with a slight stutter.

"Your _third_ chance." Alex said darkly before walking away.

"W-What? You're...You're just gonna leave me out here?!" Randal shouted as Rick and Shane following soon after, the former dropping a knife nearby for him. "You can't do this! Why...Why would you save me only to kill me like this?!"

None of the men paid him no mind as they kept on walking, Randal continuing to shout after them, pleading with them to take him in and that he wasn't to blame for what happened before and for what his people had done. They had been almost out of hearing range when he screamed one last thing...

"I went to school with Maggie for god's sake!"

Alex would have kept going, but he felt the other two come to a stop and turned back to see them storming up to the bound man.

"You went to school with Maggie?!" Rick demanded, wanting to be sure he heard correctly. Randal froze, realizing that he may have made a mistake. "Answer the question!" the former sheriff shouted as he and Shane now loomed over him again.

"Sh-She didn't know me! She didn't even know I existed!" Randal pleaded. "I mean, I knew her...I knew who her dad was...I wouldn't do anything to hurt them! Or you! I'm not like the guys I was with!"

"Bullshit!" Alex bellowed, shutting the other young man up, "We know what you did, what you were going to do. At this point you're just digging yourself a deeper hole. Far as we're concerned, you just proved that you can't be trusted."

"Agreed." without warning Shane drew his pistol of fired. Randal's head blowing open from one side to the other as he slumped to the ground.

"SHANE!" Rick shouted, shoving the former deputy into the side of a police cruiser, "WHAT THE HELL?!"

Shane snarled, getting back to his feet and aiming back at his friend.

Alex's eyes widened and he reacted on instinct, jumping infront of Rick just as Shane's weapon fired four times. Each round piercing through his torso at different points and sending small fountains of blood into the air.

All sound came to an abrupt halt. Rick was frozen in surprised horror as the younger man dropped to the ground on both knees, a hand over his chest with blood seeping between his fingers.

Shane grinned, a sadistic sense of victory washing over him. "One problem solved," he said, preparing to shoot at Rick this time...

That was until Alex stood up.

Both men gaped as the host rose to his full height, acting as though he hadn't just been shot with a dark look passing over his eyes.

"What the fuck..." Shane muttered, raising his pistol to shoot Alex in the head when the younger man swiped his hand through the air. A long, black tendril extending from his arm and slapping the weapon from the former deputy's hand.

Before he had a chance to register what was happening, Shane found himself lifted into the air by his neck. Alex's hand clenching his throat.

While this was happening, his clothes had started shifting. The symbiote covering his body as it pushed the 9mm slugs out of its host, each one making a soft metallic sound as they hit the asphalt that was heard clear as day.

Wheezing and grabbing at the arm holding him, Shane's eyes could only widen as he watched the younger man's horrifying transformation.

"Wh-What the...hell...are you?" he gasped out.

Alex grinned widely, "We..." the gaping maw of his alternate form coming up and engulfing his head as he spoke, "... **are** **VENOM!** "

 **A/N:...Guess the secret's out. Though it was a long time coming.**

 **Read, review and kick ass folks. Chapter 10 already in the works!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Here we are once again, and I can tell that its a part of the story many of you have been waiting for. So I will no longer hold you in suspense.**

 **X**

Everything was quiet on the farm, but there was a palpable tension in the air as everyone went about their business while trying not to worry about the members of their group that weren't there.

Beth was among them, working in the kitchen along side her sister preparing dinner for everyone when the three men that had left would return. Her mind wandering to Alex every so often. A light blush appearing on her cheeks when she remembered the kiss they shared earlier that day.

"Thinking about your boyfriend again?" Maggie teased, catching her little sister off in her own world again.

"N-No." Beth tried to deny, her face getting a little darker at being caught daydreaming.

The older girl rolled her eyes, "Come on, Bethy. I think I know you better than that. You've been staring off into space with that dreamy look in your eyes. Even a blind man could connect the dots."

Sighing, Beth stopped cutting the vegetables she had been working on. "Okay, fine. I was thinking about...Alex." she admitted slowly, being sure that no one was listening in on them.

"You two have been getting pretty close lately." Maggie ventured with a sly smile, "Not _too_ close I hope."

"You're one to talk, Maggie. Considering how you are with Glenn." the blonde fired back with a smirk of her own, causing her older sister to blush. "And no, we haven't gotten that close. We did, uh, kiss though. And we both are hoping to see how things go from there."

Maggie smiled wider, "Sounds like you got yourself a boyfriend alright. Is it different than when-"

"It's not like it was with Jimmy." Beth admitted, knowing where her sister was going. "I don't regret what we had back then, we just grew apart. But Alex...he's different." the blonde smiled as she thought back to the host and their many interactions. "He's strong, and selfless. More than a bit quirky, but that adds to his charm. When he holds me, I just feel so safe. Like nothing could ever hurt me as long as he's there."

While she spoke, Maggie noticed how Beth's blush returned. Her eyes getting that faraway look again and getting lost in her own bliss.

The oldest of the two sisters but her hand on the younger one's arm, gaining her attention. "You know what I think? I think you should hold onto that boy with both hands if he makes you this happy. Ever since he got here he's been nothing but helpful and a gentleman. Though I think you should be letting daddy know about all this too, just so that things don't turn out like the last time he found out you had a boyfriend."

Both of them shared a laugh at the memory before going back to what they had been doing.

Outside the kitchen, just out of sight of the two girls, Hershel stood having heard their part of him didn't like the idea of his baby girl once again having the attention of a boy, even he had to admit that Alex was different than what he had expected.

The young man went out of his way to help wherever he could. He protected his family without hesitation, and had a kind demeanor, save for the times he bucked heads with Shane. But even Hershel was impressed with how Alex had knocked the older man down several pegs.

And above all, he made Beth happy. Helping her overcome her grief after the incident with the barn and making her smile and laugh again. With everything their family had gone through, the last thing he wanted to see was his daughters lose themselves.

Deciding to have a little talk with the young man when he and Rick got back, the old vet stepped outside to enjoy the warm day while the sun was still up.

 **X**

Rick had not been prepared for the events of today. Even if the talk he had with Shane had supposedly gone well at the time, he knew that deep down their issues wouldn't be solved.

But he hadn't expected the man that had once been a close friend to execute a prisoner in cold blood. And then, as if to push that disbelief even farther, that same friend had tried to shoot him.

He had still been in shock when Alex took the rounds meant for him, then he disarmed Shane...and then _changed_ into something straight out of a person's nightmare. The former sheriff was frozen where he stood, unable to comprehend how everything had gone so completely sideways in such a short period of time.

As for Shane, he could only stare wide-eyed at the beast that now held him dangling off the ground. Venom's fang-filled maw stretched into a wide, horrifying grin as he took in the man's obvious fear.

 **"You've made your LAST mistake, Walsh."** Venom rumbled, **"You will not take anymore life for your own selfishness."** he raised his clawed hand, the blades extending even longer.

"ALEX STOP!" the deadly claws paused before they could penetrate Shane's chest. Venom swung his head around and looked toward Rick, the man's face was pale when the two made eye contact. The former sheriff still not wanting to believe what he was seeing, but was hoping and praying that he was still dealing with the young man he and the others had come to know for the last two weeks.

Hand resting on his .357, but not drawing it, mostly because he figured it would do no good, Rick took a hesitant step forward. "There doesn't have to be anymore killing today." he said, taking a fleeting glance at Randal's corpse.

 **"He won't change, Rick."** said Venom, **"He will try to kill you again. He wants what he can't have and will do whatever he wants to get it. You and the others are in danger."**

"I know." Rick replied honestly. "But we will deal with this another way."

Swinging his head back around to growl at Shane, Venom wanted nothing more than to crush the man into nothing. But he knew that the moment he changed into his current form the whole game had changed as well.

His secret was out now, no turning back. And there would be a lot to answer for. If he wanted to get through all of it while trying to maintain what little trust he had gained he needed to follow Rick's lead.

With a huff, he tossed Shane to the ground. Not caring if the former deputy broke something before standing at his full height and turning to address Rick fully. The two men staring at one another in silence for a while before the creature's head slithered back to reveal Alex's once again.

"We have much to explain..." he stated rather casually. Rick swallowed thickly and nodded in agreement.

Both men snapped to attention when Shane let loose a yell, Alex ducked just as a large wrench passed over his head and smashed through the window of the building they had been standing beside. None of them had time to register the sudden attack when a loud chorus of snarls and growls echoed from inside.

"You fucking idiot!" Alex shouted just as the doors burst open and a horde of walkers surged out into the open. The host fired webbing from both arms, creating a barrier over the opening and ensnaring the undead before they could completely escape.

Rick turned toward Shane only to find him gone, more walkers coming out of the surrounding buildings and cars and beginning to converge on them.

Alex brought up his claws and started cleaving through the undead and keeping them at a distance. But it wouldn't be enough, the webbing would hold most of them off but wouldn't last forever, and the walkers were coming in from all over.

"Rick we gotta go!" he shouted to the former sheriff, grabbing another walker and throwing it into the side of a police car.

"Shane's gone!" Rick called back, taking out his knife and stabbing a different walker in the head with it.

The webbing keeping the horde of undead within the building started to tear where it was attached to the walls, the number of bodies pressing into the substance becoming too much to handle.

"Fuck him! He tried to kill us and left us with all this shit!" Alex replied, driving his claws through a walker's jaw into its head.

Rick grit his teeth, his conscious about the situation not sitting well with him. On the one hand he didn't think he could willingly leave someone behind, remembering what had happened with Daryl's brother Merle. But on the other, Shane had once again showed his true colors. Attacking him with the intent to kill regardless of the consequences.

The snarl of a walker snapped him back into focus as he quickly drew his .357 and shot the attacking zombie in the head. The powerful round going through the walker's head and then a second one that had been behind it.

Seeing the man's inner struggle with his own morals, Alex went for a more direct approach. "You're family's waiting for you!" he exclaimed, "Your wife, son and unborn baby need you Rick! Don't let yourself get killed for someone that's not worth your life!"

That seemed to do it, coming to a decision Rick nodded at the host. "You have a plan?!" he asked, stabbing another walker.

Alex allowed his suit to cover his head and became Venom once more, **"Stay behind us!"** the beast swiped with both arms, bladed tendrils extending outward and slicing all the undead infront of them to pieces.

With an opening, the host led Rick away just as the webbing on the door gave way. A handful of walkers chasing after them while others went after Randal's corpse.

As they moved, the unusual duo was met with more walkers stumbling out into the open. All the noise attracting them to the only living beings nearby.

Venom wasted no time in cutting them all down, making a clear path back to the cars and their only means of escape. Going as far as lifting one of the derelict cars then throwing it back where they had come from, the strength of which causing Rick to pause in awe as countless walkers were crushed under the large projectile.

When they reached the two cars, the host converted back to his normal form before webbing the gate closed to keep anymore undead from following after them. Both he and Rick jumping into the former sheriff's vehicle and tearing off down the road. Putting as much distance between themselves and the herd as they could.

The whole ride neither of the two men were willing to break the ice first for the longest time before Rick pulled the car off to the side of the road at the half-way point back to the farm.

"We're not going another inch until you explain to me exactly what the hell happened back there." Rick said pointedly after shutting the car off.

Alex nodded, knowing full well there was no getting around it.

The sun had started getting lower in the sky by the time Alex finished telling Rick his story. The host sitting on the hood of the car while the former sheriff paced back and forth infront of him.

"This...This is all unbelievable. You understand that right?" Rick asked after a while of coming to grips with everything he had been told.

"To be fair, we're living in a world dominated by the walking dead. Aliens from outer space shouldn't be too much of a stretch." Alex offered with a shrug.

"Does anyone else know about this?" the former sheriff asked.

The host nodded, "Sophia, we scared her a bit when we saved her from the rotters. But she seemed to overcome it rather quickly. We also told Beth a couple days ago. It was our intention on informing all of you of our unique situation, we just needed to be sure that we could trust you all and had earned your trust in return. The last few times we revealed our true nature was not greeted with good responses."

He saw the indecision on the older man's face and pressed on, "We meant what we had said as well. That our secret wasn't a danger to you or the others. We've only ever tried to help people, save people. Even if it mean having us come off as something to fear, we only ever put the needs of others before ourselves."

Rick ran his hand through his hair, he honestly didn't have the slightest idea on where to go with this. It was something too big for him to decide on alone.

"We need to get back, tell everyone else what happened. And you'll have to come clean about what you are as well." he said seriously, "I can't speak for the others, so they'll need to know. We'll go from there on what to do."

Alex nodded, "It's only fair." he said, hopping off the hood as they got back into the car.

"For what it's worth," the former sheriff began after restarting the engine, "I owe you for what you did back there."

"You don't owe us anything, sheriff. Giving us a chance to explain ourselves is more than enough." the host replied as they started down the road again. The rest of the trip was done in silence, everyone welcoming them back when they pulled onto the Greene property until they noticed they were missing both a vehicle and a person.

Rick didn't mix words, he told the group what had happened. How Shane killed Randal in cold blood while he was restrained before trying to kill him, how the two of them barely made it out of there when walkers were baring down on them.

When asked about what had happened with Shane, the former sheriff explained how he had been lost in the crowd of walkers and they couldn't find him before they were forced to flee.

Andrea was pissed about this. Demanding that they go back for him but given how late in the day it was it wouldn't be safe for any of them. The blonde shook her head and stormed off in a huff.

"I can't believe Shane would do that." Glenn said when everything was settled.

"Not surprisin'." grunted Daryl. " 'specially after all the shit he's been pullin'. I say good riddance."

"I wished there could have been another way." said Rick honestly, "But there wasn't enough time."

"How'd you guys manage to get away?" asked Maggie. Rick sent a meaningful look at Alex, silently telling him that he had the floor.

The host scratched the side of his neck, "That would have been us...we've kinda been meaning to tell you all something for a while now." this had the attention of everyone. Beth came up to him, concern in her eyes but Alex gave her a reassuring smile before going back to the group.

"Hershel, you said that Otis encountered something in the woods. Something beyond belief." the vet nodded slowly, wondering where the young man was taking this, "Did what Otis see...look like this?"

To the shocked horror of everyone, they bore witness to Alex's clothes turning pitch black and ink-like before covering his body. His size and muscle-mass growing until he had taken on his full Venom form.

Lori, Maggie, Patricia and Carol stumbled back screaming. Hershel and Dale both looked on the verge of heart attacks. While Daryl, Glenn and T-Dog all had weapons drawn and ready.

"STOP!" Two voice shouted out as Beth and Sophia stood infront of the host.

"Sophia?! Get away from that thing!" Carol shouted.

"They saved me, mama!" Sophia screamed back, "If it wasn't for Alex and Venom I wouldn't have made it back!"

Venom gently nudged the two girls aside and took a step forward, the group keeping their distance, not knowing what to expect. **"We are not a danger to any of you."** the beast spoke, its voice causing everyone to flinch. The face split open and slithered back allowing Alex's face to be seen, "Although, the reaction was to be expected."

"What the fuckin' hell are you?" said T-Dog, not knowing how to make heads or tails of what was happening right infront of them.

"We know that you're afraid, in shock, trust us it's not something new. We will explain everything, just put the guns down and give us a chance." Alex implored.

"We can trust him." Rick said, surprising them all, "I wouldn't have brought him back with me if I thought he would be a danger to everyone here. And he's done nothing but help us since he arrived, if anything, he deserves a chance to explain himself."

Seconds ticked by before all weapons were lowered, albeit with a great deal of hesitation. The host nodded in thanks to Rick, holding up his hand allowing a series of tentacles to sprout and wave around the air.

"We share our body with an alien, symbiotic lifeform called a Klyntar. It was exiled from its people and crash landed here on Earth a couple years ago where we found it and it bonded to us."

"Aliens? From outer space?" asked Glenn skeptically.

"Like we told Rick, we live in a world filled with the undead. Is it really that hard to believe?" asked Alex with a raised eyebrow. The Korean didn't have an answer for that one.

"So yer sayin' some kinda alien worm is swimming around in your guts?" Daryl questioned.

Alex felt his other hiss within his mind at that, "It's more complicated than that." he said while at the same time trying to keep the symbiote calm. "A Klyntar can't live without a host, in the process it helps the host protect the both of them by making them inhumanly strong with various other abilities. The two become one, hence the name 'Symbiote'."

The group took a moment to take that all in, "Can you speak with it?" asked Rick.

The host nodded, "We speak regularly through our thoughts. We call it our other, and it has said quite a bit about each of you at one point or another." he said honestly.

"Heh, all good things?" asked T-Dog nervously.

"Would you prefer to speak to our other yourself?" Alex asked, making everyone look at him questioningly. A large tendril sprouted from his back and came around to his front, the end taking on the shape of a human head that changed into a copy of Venom's.

No one said a word as the newly sprouted head grinned with its fang-filled maw. **"We all meet at last."** the symbiote spoke. **"And we do not appreciate being called a 'worm'."** it sent a meaningful glare at Daryl who fought the urge to pick up his crossbow again.

"...Cool." Carl whispered in awe from beside Sophia.

 **X**

Realizing too late about the mistake he had made, Shane barely managed to get himself inside an old school bus and seal the door tightly behind him. The walkers outside pounding on the sealed opening as they tried to get in after him.

Stumbling down the isle of seats, past the clothes and luggage of the people that had been there long before, the former deputy collapsed into a seat. Breathing haggard and sweat dripping over his face.

It wasn't supposed to happen this way. None of this was supposed to happen.

Shane slammed his fist on the seat infront of him. He wasn't supposed to be the one in this mess. If Rick hadn't gotten involved...if Rick hadn't _come back_ , things would have been different!

He had been leader of the group, he had Lori and Carl! He worked and did everything to provide for them and all Rick had to do was swoop in and snatch it all away!

He wasn't a leader, he couldn't make the calls Shane had to. Thinking shit all worked the same as before, nothing was the same! _He_ knew that, but instead everyone hung off of Rick's every word.

And now here he was, stuck surrounded by walkers with no way out...this was all Rick's fault, him and that bastard Cross. Shane swore that he'd get out of this, get back to the farm and make them all pay in spades.

Sitting alone with only the loud pounding of the dead outside and his own dark thoughts, the former deputy plotted his revenge on everyone that had wronged him.

 **X**

"You both have been through so much." said Rick, everyone in the group sans Andrea were all sitting around a bonfire while Alex and the symbiote spoke about their adventures since they became bonded. "Though that does explain the stories I heard about from up North. Something about a vigilante that had been terrorizing the local criminals in New York and New Jersey."

Alex chuckled, "Yeah, that was us." he said, holding out half a chocolate bar that his other happily bit into and devoured. "We had these powers, so we put them to good use."

"No other groups would accept you?" asked Carol, finally overcoming her fear of the host and his unusual 'partner'.

"We tried to stay hidden, but something would always happen that would force us to expose what we are." Alex explained.

 **"And humans have proven time and again that fear makes them act irrationally when it comes to survival."** added the symbiote. **"Given the state your world has become, we cannot fault you for reacting in such a way."**

Glenn laughed from his spot beside Maggie, "I can't believe we're actually having a talk with a real-life alien. Is there anything out there that you can tell us about?"

 **"The universe is vast, countless species exist across many worlds. Earth is a mere drop in the ocean compared to all the life that exist outside your solar system."** explained the symbiote.

The former delivery driver's mouth fell open, his hands making the signal for explosions on either side of his head causing a couple others in the group to laugh.

Alex brought his attention to Hershel who looked to be deep in thought, "We hope this doesn't affect your beliefs, Hershel." he said garnering the old man's attention. "But like our other said, the universe is vast. Though something did create it."

Hershel smiled, "I may have been raised catholic and done the same for my family, but I also raised my girls to keep an open mind when it comes to how everything came to be."

"Something bugging me though." said Dale, the old man turning his attention to the symbiote. "You both said that you were exiled from your people. Something about a difference in beliefs. What happened exactly."

The rest of the group looked at the duo, wondering what would be said. Alex looked at his other, knowing the truth himself but not knowing if the symbiote wanted to reopen the wound.

 **"To understand our present, you must first understand our past."** the symbiote began, **"A past we wished to never remember."**

 **"Long before the universe came to be, there existed only one being who was master of the void. A malevolent deity known as Knull. This was before the Celestials, cosmic beings responsible for the creation of the universe itself appeared."**

 **"As they brought life and planets to the void, Knull plotted against them for tarnishing his realm. Creating a living sword from his shadow, he slayed one of the Celestials by removing their head. This sword, would be known as the first generation of our kind. The first symbiote.**

By now, everyone was solely focused on the alien as it spoke the tale. **"The other Celestials fought back, casting Knull back into the void. Not knowing that it was his element. It was here that Knull used the head of the Celestial he had killed as a forge. Empowering his sword and creating a powerful armor with the cosmic powers of the being he had slain. With this new power at his disposal, he waged war against the other gods with the intent on devouring the light they had given the universe."**

 **"He was outmatched, beaten and sent to a desolate world where he lost his weapon. But Knull was determined on his quest for genocide. Using his power, he created an army of symbiotes with the intent of conquering other planets and consuming entire civilizations. This went on for centuries until a powerful symbiote that had been sent here to Earth had been destroyed by a god from another realm. This event caused the connection between Knull and his creations to be severed, with his hive-mind destroyed, the symbiotes ended up bonding to benevolent hosts that taught them honor and nobility, causing them to question their creator's methods and eventually rebelled against him."**

 **"Countless symbiotes all over the galaxy returned to where they were spawned, fought Knull and imprisoned him within a massive planet made by their own bodies and sealing him away indefinitely. This is where the name of our species was made. Klyntar, in your dialect, means 'Cage'."**

No one had the ability to say anything. The fact that they had all been told how the universe began had been huge, beyond anything they had ever heard before. But the knowledge that a malevolent god had tried to destroy everything that had been created.

"Fuck..." Daryl muttered, taking out a cigarette and lighting it.

"That...is that all true?" asked Lori, hugging Carl close who was enraptured by the story.

The symbiote nodded its head, **"This memory is passed down from each generation of symbiote since the first was spawned from Knull himself. It is our history...and our greatest shame. To know that our race was meant to only destroy, it is a past we try to forget."**

Rick ran his hand through his hair a few times, trying to gather his thoughts. "Each generation...what does that make you?" he asked.

 **"Knull's living sword was the first; we are the 998th generation to be spawned since then."**

"Why..." T-Dog swallowed, "Why were you kicked off your planet?"

There was a long silence before the symbiote answered, Alex sending calming emotions through their bond to help his other. **"Even with Knull's imprisonment, many of our kind still believed in his cause. There was conflict amongst our kind, a war that lasted for centuries. We were captured by Knull's followers, and when we wouldn't be indoctrinated to their beliefs we were sent away from our home. One less to stand against them."**

"That's horrible." said Beth.

 **"Even though we are far from our homeworld, we have forged ourselves a new home here on Earth."** the symbiote turned to its host, **"And we have our host to thank for that."**

Alex grinned and handed his other the other half of the chocolate bar. "You saved our asses more than once, we'll call it even."

Rick cleared his throat, "Thank you, both of you, for being honest with us. I can understand why you wanted to keep all of this hidden. It's still pretty unbelievable to tell the truth." he said honestly. "We had all come to the idea of letting you become part of our group, and I can't think of a better time to make this decision than right now."

"They got my vote." said Glenn while grinning, "Having a badass alien on our side would be pretty awesome."

T-Dog nodded, "Same here. Definitely shake things up around here."

"He saved Sophia," Carol stated while hugging her daughter, "It doesn't matter who or what he and his friend are. They are good people."

"He hasn't given us any problems, and has gone out of his way to help us. I say he stays." said Dale.

Flicking his cigarette into the fire, Daryl looked toward the host and his other, "Dale's right, they ain't causin' no trouble. Kinda wanna see what'll happen when they cut loose."

Lori agreed with him, "I wouldn't be here if he hadn't saved me from the wreck."

Hershel rubbed his eyes and looked toward Alex, "Despite the secrecy, I see no reason for you to be sent away." Maggie nodded in agreement with her father along with Patricia while Beth moved closer to Alex's side.

Rick looked around, seeing everyone save for Andrea in agreement on the matter. "Everyone agrees, so the final decision is up to the two of you." he said looking toward Alex and his partner.

The symbiote turned its head and nodded to its host before slithering back into Alex's body. "We agreed that if this ever came up we'd decide to stay with you lot. I beats going it alone."

The answer had everyone smiling, even Rick who was more than happy to have the unusual duo on their side.

"Hey, Alex? I have a question." said Carl.

"Shoot, mini-sheriff." replied the host.

"Do you think other symbiotes came here to Earth like yours did?" the question was innocent enough, and one Alex had been thinking about years ago.

"Honestly...we're not sure. We haven't encountered any in the time we've been bonded to our other. And with there so little in terms of hosts to choose from, the chances are slim to none that any would come to this planet."

The answer seemed to relax several of the others within the group as they continued to ask the host about the exploits he and his other had in the past. But for Alex and the symbiote, they felt a weight on their shoulders lifting with the knowledge that they had finally found a group that accepted them and made them feel welcomed.

 **X**

Night had fallen, and Shane had yet to find a way to escape his confinement.

Most of the walkers outside the bus had wandered off, but there were still more than a dozen outside still scratching at the walls trying to find a way in.

His anger had simmered, focusing more on how to escape without being eaten or bitten. But given the late hour exhaustion had caught up with him, deciding to get rest before making his move, the former deputy made sure that any entrances to the bus were blocked off before settling in for the night.

Laying across one of the seats close to the back, Shane got as comfortable. Thoughts of vengeance and retribution at the forefront of his mind as he slipped into a fitful sleep.

 **X**

 **A/N: Not the update you all were expecting, but with a few readers contacting me about how I handled this chapter had me second guessing how I ended it last time. Granted, I may come back to the idea of other symbiotes making an appearance, it may not be for some time. For now I'll stick to canon for the Walking Dead and make it a completely different field for fans new and old out there.**

 **The newest update is still in the works, but don't worry, it will be coming soon.**

 **Until then, Read. Review and Kick ass folks!**


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